The day Britannia fell
by Conscripts
Summary: It is once noted that the Neurois are unable to devise complicated strategies and tactics. But what will happen if one of them, a young, idealistic Neuroi with the body and mind of a human being, can? How will the witches deal with him? And how will this affect humanity's relation with the Neuroi? Set in an AU where all countries, except for Liberion and Fuso, are conquered.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue: The invasion

**Hello, and welcome to my first strike witches fanfic. This story is quite anti-meta maybe, because this is told mainly from the Neuroi's perspective. The main character of this fic isn't a witch, isn't a pilot, but an officer, and a Neuroi, possessing a human body. Because I don't want the context of the story to be bland, I decided to make my own universe, which is still based on the strike witches universe, but with territorial changes, and write the story in a different perspective. I don't know if this is such a good idea, but I believe it is.**

 **Anyway, the prologue is pretty short, as it is...a prologue. It is a prelude to the events of the story, which I will try to extend it when I get to it. Also, the first chapter is very much inspired by the intro of the game Napoleon Total War. I've watched Napoleon in the game initiating a huge landing on the coast of England while delivering an awesome speech. The first line in this story is directly quoted from one of his line.**

 **Enjoy the first chapter, and be sure to leave a signed review if you want to praise or criticize my story. Constructive criticisms are always welcome. Honestly, I read every each of them, so your opinions won't be overlooked.**

 **Disclaimer: All strike witches characters belong to their respective owners, only the OCs are owned by me.**

* * *

 _"_ _My enemies are many. My equals are none…"_

The year was 1942, somewhere in September, midnight, on the Southern Eastern Coast of Britannia, a young man, in somewhat his late twenties, with spiky black hair, crimson red eyes, wearing a long distinguishable black coat, decorated with multiple red hexagons, red epaulettes and red buttons, pants and boots that shared the same color and pattern, was standing on top of Britannia's great white cliff, among a vast but transparent blanket of grey hanging heavily over the area. It wrapped around him, swooped past him, trying to obscure his vision, trying to blind his fovea, trying to freeze his skinny silhouette.

But to no avail.

The man stood upright, proudly and undauntedly, like a titan, a god, a conqueror of time and space, with his countenance towards a fleet, consisting of 3 ultra-heavy Neuroi battlecruiser, floating and lining up orderly just off the coast. They were all ready for the biggest conquest that was never thought to be possible just a year ago.

A flash of grin appeared on the young man's face, as he thought back.

* * *

 _"_ _Standing behind the Maginot, Gallia is impenetrable, they said."_

They were horribly wrong.

Those humans. Their puerile tactics doomed them. Their overconfidence led them to their grave. They thought they can hide safely behind a defense line made of concrete, installed with what they called the best arsenal in history. Fools!

The Neuroi headquarters, after some consideration, decided to initiate one large lightning campaign against Gallia in the summer of 1941. With simply one swift maneuver of ground Neurois through the Ardennes forest, Paris fell almost instantly. The campaign effectively ended, only one month and a half from its outset, a huge decisive victory for the Neuroi, with the occupation of the invaded country. The remnants were forced to retreat to Britannia, as the Neurois paraded triumphantly under the Arc de Triomphe.

* * *

 _"_ _Sitting inside the tanks and trucks in North Africa, the Neuroi will never reach the Suez Canal, they exclaimed."_

The next thing he reminisces, was the North Africa campaign. After the fall of Gallia, the Britannian, Gallian and Karlslander decided to send a large majority of its forces to North Africa and attack the Neurois there, hoping to establish a foothold so that they could launch a counter-attack on Southern Gallia. But that hope of theirs was utterly crushed soon after.

After the arrival of the Elite Neuroi Corp, they never stood a chance. From the successful siege of Tobruk, to the two decisive victory at El Alamein and Suez Canal, the Neurois once again triumphed, even though they had to face some losses due to the appearance of a new type of fighting unit: witches. To be honest, they were maneuverable, fast and agile, capable of destroying heavy to ultra-heavy Neurois. However, it was not enough.

* * *

 _"_ _Living in the freezing cold winter, Orussia will never be conquered, they believed."_

Once again, they were proved wrong.

The lightning campaign that gave the Gallian a terrible defeat at their very own homeland, also worked in Orussia. A simultaneous assault in three different directions had led to the capture of most of their cities and resource plants. After only a month, the only cities standing were Leningrad, Stalingrad, and their capital Moscow.

The Orussian fought valiantly, they must admitted. From witches, to every generals, officers, soldiers, they all had ginormous will to protect their motherland. And the Orussian winter, they were terrifying. Some small Neurois couldn't withstand the extremely low temperature, and were frozen, unable to fight. The Orussian sometimes launched a counter attack then, which gave the Neurois had quite a hard time.

But it was just quite.

Once winter had passed, all was lost.

Without the weather blocking their advances, the Neurois marched again, destroying all in its path. In April 1942, Leningrad fell. 3 weeks later, Moscow fell. Finally, after some fierce fighting that lasted for over 6 months, Stalingrad also fell into the Neuroi's hand, effectively ending the invasion of Orussia, with the occupation of the Neurois in that country.

* * *

 _"_ _Now, no one of them dares to say anything. They are all silenced. They hated me. They cursed at me. They fear me._

 _I say I am Alexander Kherol. I am a Neuroi!"_

He was back to reality, as the fog started to clear, revealing a starry night sky above the coast of Dover.

The three battlecruisers flashed a red light from their hulls, illuminating the entire coast line.

They are ready.

The young man placed a black peaked cap on his head, as he gazed down on the Neuroi fleet.

This is it, a new era for Europe, and for all humanity.

"Let the invasion begin!" He said with a loud and clear voice, reaching out his arm, his hand opened, as if he was holding in it the entire continent already.

In an instant, the three battlecruisers opened its hull, revealing hundreds, thousands, possibly millions, of smaller sized Neurois, in different types and forms. They all flew out simultaneously, filling the sky with nothing but blacks and reds. At the same time, hundreds of amphibious Neurois, each carrying yet another dozens of smaller ground Neurois, appeared from the ship's lower hull, preparing to land on the coast.

As he watched the deployment of Neurois, the invasion forces marched slowly but terrifyingly towards mainland Britannia. There is no one that can, or dare to, stand in their way.

Their destination: London.


	2. Chapter 2: Interrogation

**Welcome to chapter 2 of the fic. Well, after writing the first chapter, I've decided to change a bit of my characters label. At first, I just thought that I would write about the relationship between the 501st and the MC only, especially Yoshika. But here I think I will focus more on Lynette and her sister, Wilma, instead, since their homeland is Britannia after all. The focus shall be the relationship between the two of them, while being separated from each other, and between Wilma and the MC. The reason why the two sisters were separated, you'll learn it in this chapter. Wilma recently have become my favorite witch, after reading a few works about her, so that's the reason why I will change the foucs of the story. Of course, I will still explore how the witches, especially the 501st, deal with him. So the character labels shall be Lynette and Wilma instead of Yoshika and Minna.**

 **Somehow, I feel that Wilma is quite OOC right here, because I don't have enough material to know how she would react in such a situation. I hope you can forgive me that.**

 **Very much thank you for the positive support in chapter 1, I felt more motivated to write about this story now.**

 **If you have some times, you can check out my first fic, General, about the game Kantai Collection. It's more terrible than this since it's my first, but if you still want to have a look, feel free to.**

 **If you find this story interesting or you feel that this needs improvements, please take a few minutes to review it. Constructive criticisms are welcomed.**

 **Disclaimer: This fic is for entertainment purposes. Don't take it seriously. Also, all characters, except for the OCs all belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Interrogation

It was one of the darkest days in their life.

"Damn it! How could this happen?!" First Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn slammed her fist down onto a table, as she cursed, loudly.

"We were just going shopping together happily at London just 3 months ago. And now, it's…" On the other hand, Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji wasn't able to finish what she said. It was truly a foreign and painful experience for her. Britannia was the place that the 501st JFW first came together, had fun together and fought together. It was her second home to Fuso. And now seeing it falling into the enemy's hand, Yoshika couldn't imagine it, even though it is reality. A harsh reality.

But still, for Yoshika, Britannia was only just her second home. For Lynette…

Since the evacuation, the young brunette Britannian did not speak, scream, nor shed a single tear. Her eyes were completely empty. From a normal person's perspective, she was like a robot, an object acting mechanically. No emotions, no expressions, nothing was shown from her exterior.

"Lynette-san. Are you okay?" Asked the blonde Gallian witch, Perrine Clostermann, with a concerning expression. She patted her shoulder lightly. But no responses. Her mind was a chaotic mess, her emotions couldn't find their way out of her small body. Myriads of sentiments were ricocheting inside her

Shock

Grief

Anger

Dejection

And finally despair

"Lynne-chan, would you like something to eat?" Yoshika turned to her best friend, with a forced cheer, trying to clear up the depressing atmosphere that was painfully tormenting to the young but frail Britannian.

But nothing worked.

Lynette didn't give a care about what she said, nor did she even listen. She slowly ventured towards the window, away from the rest of the room's occupants. Her gaze being drawn by the magnificent view of the night sky. The stars were connecting to each other, constellating into one another, shining unusually bright in the sky, either as a consolidation, or a mock to her failure. She didn't know, but in any cases, the visage of everything dear to her played orderly in her mind.

Her country house that she had once lived.

Her friends at school.

Her mother.

Her father.

Wilma.

Now they're all dead, gone, disappeared.

And it was all because of her.

The picture kept repeating, again and again.

Tormenting her, tearing her apart, bit by bit

Until she couldn't hold it back anymore. A teardrop slide down her soft cheeks, only to be followed by another, then another, then another, until there was a stream of tears pouring down, glimmering her face. Her legs eventually lost its strength, and she fell down on her knees, her hands covering her face as she sobbed heavily.

"Lynne-chan!" Yoshika couldn't bear to be silent as she saw her best friend experiencing such a breakdown. She, along with her Liberion squadmate, Charlotte, rushed to her side, trying to help her up.

"Lynette, we haven't lost everything. There's still hope. We can still retake your homeland." Charlotte comforted her, wrapping her arm around her back, patting it, as she wrapped Lynette's around her back, supporting her. Yoshika also came to her, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.

But those comfort didn't help either.

The old, cheery Lynette died along with her family, and Great Britannia.

Supported by Charlotte and Yoshika, Lynette was dragged out of the room, followed by Lucchini and Perrine, as the rest looked on, with anxiety and concern.

"Poor Lynette-chan. The shock of losing her family must be too great on her." Sanya said, her tone lowered. She, too, lost her homeland, Orussia, her family, back in April, a lost that she locked up in her room for 2 days, continuously, only coming out because she was exhausted from hunger. Placing her in Lynette's shoes, she would do no difference. That is why, somewhere in her voice exists genuine sympathy and the pain that she had also been through.

"This is truly an unexpected turn of event. Over 50% of the current witches were disabled, among those, 7 witches were shot down, only 4 of whom survived. It's a total disaster." Major Mio Sakamoto showed a calmer attitude, as she closed her eyes, deep in thoughts.

"Who would have thought our attacks on Amsterdam were countered so easily?" Commander Minna Dietlinde Wilck remembered, the bitter fragments of nightmare came to mind. That day, the Britannian military decided to dispatch their elite troops to Amsterdam, consisting of over 100 witches from ten different squadrons, along with a combined fleet of 5 different nations, armed with state-of-the-art weaponry, with the intention of striking the Neuroi hive directly at Eastern Gallia. The high command had high hopes about this lightning campaign, hoping that it would liberate Gallia in one fell swoop.

But war wasn't as easy as they thought.

As they go deeper inland, no Neurois were to be seen. Amsterdam was a dead city, nothing moved, nothing shifted. The city laid still like a grave, silent and terrifying. And that terror was soon realized when after a few days settling in the abandoned Amsterdam, the soldiers found the entire city in an uncontrollable conflagration. Fiery inferno quickly consumed all buildings, houses, trees that stood in their way, in 3 days, until the witches managed to extinguish the fire, or it ran out of materials to burn.

Left with no accommodations, the witches' nightmare was completed, as news of the combined Naval Fleet was destroyed at a naval battle off the coast came almost immediately after the fire. In just a week after the campaign started, the allied troops were already being enveloped and trapped, decimated by thousands of Neurois harassing day and night, relentlessly. It was a total miracle for some that they were able to get out of there, in one piece.

"We lost because we underestimated them. I mean…burning an entire city." Mio said, still couldn't believe it.

"No the thing is that they intentionally let us advance further inland so that our naval vessels are isolated and destroyed at the coast. They are not supposed to be able to do that." Minna replied.

"They can't. Only humans are capable of planning and executing such a strategy."

"Then if you put it like that…there may be humans working secretly for them."

"They might be officers, or the high rankings commanders. Because although our plans seemed to be rushing through the war, and had underestimations, but deep behind the scenes, it was planned out carefully, with the participation of Marshal Rommel, Sir Winston Churchill, and many other experienced officers. The one able to outwit all of them must be very powerful."

"But who?" The question ran through all the minds of the room's occupant. It wouldn't be long before they realized who he was.

* * *

Buckingham Palace, London.

The area around the Palace was extremely crowded, as Neurois, numbering to thousands, gathered, their red hexagons illuminating an entire section of the city, seen from miles away. This served only one purpose of greeting the young Neuroi commander that just successfully conquered Britannia, but it also marked a dark milestone in the country's history: The fall of London.

"Do you hear that Eris? This isn't the coronation of the emperor and yet they are filled with enthusiasm." The man in the black coat walked through a hall in the palace, as he spoke to his adjutant, who was following him closely behind.

"…" But she didn't answer. Simply because she couldn't understand what he said. Unlike him, she is just a normal witch-like type Neuroi, with grey cat ears, no faces, simple patterned long-sleeved outfit and a striker-like legs. Technically speaking, her leg isn't a striker, but the purpose of it was pretty much the same: to help her moving around. The only thing making her distinguishable from the other witch type Neurois is that her grey metal hair were a bit longer, extending down to her shoulders.

Knowing that his human way of talking was making her confused, he turned to his normal communication methods.

 _"_ _I think you should try to learn human languages. It's a pretty interesting concept to learn."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, but I was not born with a mouth like you. There's no point learning a language if you cannot speak it."_ Eris replied, as she transmitted her words through to him.

 _"_ _But you can still read or write. It's a really beautiful system of words and phrases. They are also diverse. Compared to us, who only uses one language, humans have a variety of them, each has their own set of pronunciations, vocabularies and grammars. It's amazing to see such divergence in just a race."_

 _"_ _But I thought you don't like humans."_ She conversed, seemingly surprised at how knowledgeable he was at the topic.

 _"_ _But still, their cultures are still something worth noticing. Especially architectures."_ Alexander replied, as he walked to a pillar supporting the palace's mass. _"They are much more dynamic than our own. I hope that they won't suffer the same fate like those at the place the humans called Amsterdam."_

 _"_ _You truly are a lover of art, Alex. But please don't let it affect our conquest of Earth."_ Eris politely advised, as she hovered to his right. _"When you finish it, you can love anything you want. For our galaxy, and for our empire."_

Alexander nodded, without saying anything back.

 _For our empire._

Heh…

Is it really for the empire?

He started walking away, across a hall full of paintings. They were all caught under his gaze, but he didn't pay attention. There are works to do.

The next room he entered was a spacious office, painted completely in pale green. The room layout was wooden, from the door, chair, desk, bookcase, and even window frame. A smell of fresh leaves and blooming flowers resounded across the room, from an air refresher material, especially made for the members of the Britannian royal family and governing elite. Anyone foreign to this luxury could feel themselves standing in a vast tropical rainforests on a winter night, with chilly winds smuggling onto their cheeks, and comfortable silence wrapping around us. It is an ideal place to work in.

"Wow." The room's layout had left a good impression on the young Neuroi. He walked to the wooden desk at the far end of the room, touching it and sensing how smooth it was. Then he finally sat down on the chair placed behind it, before removing his two gloves.

 _"_ _So this is the place those Britannians governing elites work in…Seems like I'll be in this room for a long time."_

 _"_ _Sir, a telegram from the emperor."_ Eris waited until he finished settling in and then finally spoke. _"I'll transfer it to you right away."_

She stopped hovering, descending herself to the ground, her legs spread out a bit for a firm stance. Then, she suddenly froze, completely, like a statue. There was no inches of movement in her, she's literally frozen, as if all energies vanished from her already. Well technically, it is. In order to transmit a message from one person to another over a long distances, a Neuroi must concentrate a large amount of energy from their body to their core, in order to encrypt the message into a form of signals. In other words, each core in their body is a small but energy-guzzler radar capable of sending documents and orders without the need of telephone or paper.

 _"_ _Transmission complete."_ Eris reported, as her limbs regained their power. And now it was his core that is consuming his energy.

…

…

…

 _"_ _What's wrong?"_ Eris noticed his detached state.

 _"_ _Nothing, really. Anything else?"_ Alexander quickly answered, but somehow it didn't feel really right about him. Eris was quick to see it, but didn't voice it out.

 _"_ _Well, there are some prisoners that were captured in our last battle. I think we can gain some important information from them, such as the human's number of troops and capabilities. Since you are the one that can communicate with humans using their own language, it will not be a problem."_

 _"_ _Hmm…Ok, take me there."_

* * *

Somewhere in subterranean London.

A new group of prisoners had just arrived.

Hands cuffed, the three prisoners walked sluggishly to their cells, sharing a long chain that was pulled on one side by a bug-type Neuroi. Their legs were also attached to a chained metal ball, weighting up to about 20kg each, restricting much of their movements. Such an ironic but worthy punishments for the three Britannian witches, who soared the skies and dominated the ground with their leg attachments.

Without her leather hat, Wilma Bishop, a member of the Britannian Commonwealth Royal, looked like a fallen, wing-clipped angel. Her left leg was bleeding, from all the scratches and bruises the chained ball caused to her. She was unlucky, to be chained with an old rusty one, their surfaces crumbling with rough reddish blacks. Walking through the Neuroi underlings, she maintained an emotionless and cold attitude, her gaze hung high, but never looked at them. She had to be strong. They don't deserve to look at her pitiful face.

The door opened widely.

Wilma stepped onto her cell, slowly, as she noticed a commotion going on.

The Neurois were forming into two parallel lines, facing each other, separating by a pathway. Her own instinct told herself that the Neurois were preparing to greet another Neurois, probably an important elite one. She knew after years of fighting that the Neurois were divertive in rankings and levels, just like humans, so such a greeting of an elite Neuroi could be expected. And also their purpose of being here. To interrogate, and torture her, of course. She couldn't think of any other reasons. A swift of coldness ran down her spine as she imagined what would happen. Neuroi's torturing chambers are known to be extremely cruel, and inhumane. The scars and marks from all the former-prisoners that she had met still haunted her since.

And now she was about to be placed in their shoes.

The thought of it…

Will she be able to take all of that?

She grabbed a bar of the cell, her hands shivering slightly. But then it clenched, her nails dug onto her skin.

She have to stay strong. No matter what.

Then, something approached. The prison cells were dark, as the complex's facilities wasn't really given much attention for renovation, but she could see the silhouette of the Neuroi on the other side of the room, coming down the stairs.

What she saw next astonished her.

It has two legs. Two walking legs.

Does the Neurois have any human type?

Witch-type, maybe? But they don't usually walk.

And they don't usually wear thick clothing.

After the Neurois came down the stairs, it became clear to her.

It was a human.

Clear, yet confusing.

A human, among Neurois.

A traitor?

That couldn't be right.

She watched the human-like figure approached her. As he came into the light, his sharp features, blade-like crimson eyes gleamed along with all the red hexagons on his coat. He approached her cell and gazed at her, and her two cell-mates: Cecelia and Patricia, for a while. And then he came close, glaring at only Wilma. He didn't seem to have any interest in the other two.

Before he started the talk, he gave out a screech, and the Neuroi Guards immediately filed out.

 _"_ _Leave us alone."_ That was what he actually said in the form of Neuroi's language.

"W-Who are you?" She asked.

"You needn't know." He replied, as her eyes widened in surprise.

This cannot be a Neuroi. She thought

His accent is too native.

"Oh, I need to know. To see what kind of traitor you are?" She replied, venom in her voice,

"Traitor? Heh…" Alexander chuckled in amusement. "You're right. I'm an individualist. I'm not much for following orders."

"Is that why you betray us?"

"Betray? You're amusing. I was never one of you to start with."

"What are you talking about? Aren't you…"

Looks like she had to see it with her own eyes.

Alexander suddenly removed his glove and grabbed her arm with a forceful grip.

"What are you…"

She could feel her arm heating up very quickly. It felt just like a lump of burning coal just made contact with her bare skin. It was burning her, painfully.

She tried to resist, only to succeed when his grip loosened purposely.

On the place he just gripped, a red burn mark could be seen.

She looked at it, shocked, pained, and then at him.

His palm…is glowing red, in a hexagonal shape.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

He can't be a Neuroi.

But the hand that she saw.

Then what?

"You seem unconvinced." Alexander retracted his arm as he said. "Humans are such unpersuasive creatures. Well, I'm not the type to conceal my own personal details. I am Alexander Kherol, chief commander of the Neuroi's expeditionary forces on Earth. And of course, believe it or not, I am a Neuroi, especially created with the sole purpose of deep learning human's culture and science, also to adopt human's way of thinking."

"Deep…learning?" Wilma furrowed, struggling to understand the term.

"I am a machine capable of thinking, feeling and acting like a human being. In other words, I am you, but more powerful."

To put it simply, he is a combination of Neurois and humans.

And he is working for them.

"But why did you come to this planet? What do you want from us?"

Alexander blinked in surprise.

"A curious one, aren't you?" He complimented, as he looked up, his head tilted, for a while, thinking for a concise response. Then he pointed his index finger at her.

"You."

"Wha-What do you mean?" She was obviously confused by the short, choppy explanation.

He proceeded to point at the two other witches as well.

"You, you, all of you. All of humans. You created armies, you waged war on each other for land, for territory, for resources, for everything you can think of! If this goes on any further, the extent of your war will reach space, will reach our empire. It threatens the haven and peace of the universe. For that cause, we are forced to send an expeditionary forces to neutralize you all."

"And for what? Ending wars with wars?! You'll never achieve peace with just brutal force!"

She almost shouted, her voice audible enough to draw the attention of the Neurois behind the door.

She couldn't really believe herself either.

She wasn't used to reacting like this, due to her usual exterior as a playful and cheery witch. Perhaps, under some circumstances, people could change.

 _"_ _It's nothing, nothing."_

He turned back, reassuring the guards as they walked out again.

"You seem appeal to human's ideal of peace, mankind's freedom…But, have you ever seen what they did to each other?" His voice turned more cynical

"What?"

"Remember how your Gallian hero Napoleon got subjugated, crushed just to preserve the peace of Europe over 100 years ago."

"Because he was a dictator, a tyrant! He deserved to be punished and exiled!"

"Idealistic, aren't you? An interesting one." He complimented. "Then how about the colonization of major world powers onto smaller one, just before what you called the Second Neuroi War. I heard they rebelled a lot back then, and then got subjugated. Is that what you all call freedom?"

"T-That's…" Wilma stuttered.

He just hit the mark.

"And how you sacrificed the Czech region to us to keep peace, which didn't turn out very well."

There was no denying it.

That was the darkest time of British diplomacy.

This time, he was right. Completely right.

"I know, the human's ideology, and they are not the same as what you think. For benefits of owns individuals, for benefits of the country, you are ready to warmonger on others. And do you think we would tolerate it."

There's no point arguing around it.

But still, his ideal. She couldn't find herself believing it.

No, she couldn't believe it existed either.

"So the ideal of freedom caused chaos. But still I would rather live free in that than living in controlled slavery like you."

"Slavery? Heh…You're delusional."

"I am not. You are. I agree with you that we will never attain peace as long as there is freedom, but it is the same for yours. People would never allow themselves to be controlled. What gives you the right to control others? Who gives you the right to decide the fate of others? I tell you, your destiny of world domination…is nothing but an insane fantasy."

She rebuked him, coldly. If some strangers were to witness, they would say she was incredibly stupid. One wrong word, and you're dead. She knew that, but she couldn't submit to it.

Alexander was somewhat baffled. Never in his life did he face such criticisms or oppositions. And right here, right now, he is being rebuked, criticized by a pretty lady, under his captivity.

How fascinating.

Alexander gave a laugh, as he looked at her with interests.

"We'll see."

All of a sudden, something approached from the staircase, quickly. It was Eris, And she looked hurried.

 _"_ _What is it?"_ Asked Alexander.

 _"_ _There is a Gallian naval fleet, departing from an area around Gibraltar, is on sail towards an unknown location. I suspect they are heading towards North Liberion, in order to regroup with the rest of their allies."_ She answered.

 _"_ _Hmmph. Like I will let that happen. Let's go."_ He was about to turn away, but then he looked at the three captive Britannian witches, especially at Wilma, the one who can meet a death sentence at any minute.

"You're truly an interesting creature. I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

As she watched on, Alexander sent for a guard to come in.

 _"_ _I trust that you will treat them well. Make sure they are unharmed by the time I returned."_

The Neuroi 'nodded', as he exited the prison facilities.

The battle over the Atlantic Ocean awaits.

To him, a single fleet can be the difference between victory and defeat, so he wouldn't hesitate to destroy every single one of them.

But what he didn't know was that, ironically, their allies also saw it as a threat.

* * *

"What the hell do you mean?!" It was Sakamoto's turn to slam the table at the conference room. She could feel her blood pressure boiling in almost an instant.

Destroying our ally's fleet?!

That's the worst of the worst betrayal of all!

"Look Major Sakamoto, that Gallian fleet did not accomplish the demands we sent them. So orders from the Majesty's Governments have stated that we have to do whatever necessary to prevent those ships from falling onto the Neuroi's hand. If they managed to capture them, can you imagine what will happen?" A general, dressed in the Britannian Royal Navy uniform, said calmly to the enraged witch.

He was David Somerville, the commander of the Britannian Mediterranean fleet until the demise of its homeland.

"I know this will be a very disagreeable task on you all, but I entrust that you," A middle aged man, sitting on David's right, voiced out, addressing the squadron. "the 501st JFW, along with the rest of the combined fleet will carry the attack on the Gallian fleet relentlessly."

The middle aged man was no other than the beloved Winston Spencer Churchill, the prime minister of Britannia.

"But we can't turn our backs on our ally! The entire world will rouse against us! My pride as a samurai will not allow myself to do this!"

"Enough Major, this plan will be carried out, no matter how violent you protest." Somerville ended the conversation.

"General!" Mio shouted, her fist clenched, shaking visibly, with the hope that they would reconsider

But to no avail.

She shouted protests a few more times, only to be abstained by Minna, who was standing behind her all the time.

The stage is set. For the utter most carnage in the war.


	3. Chapter 3: The ill-fated fleet

Chapter 3: The ill-fated fleet.

Somewhere in the Atlantic, 0800.

A fleet, consisting of three Gallian battleships, three light cruisers and five destroyers were heading towards Liberion's port Baltimore, with the hope of catching up with the rest of their allies' remnants. They were once under command of a puppet state Gallian government established by the Neurois, but they disobeyed orders and decided to side with free Gallia instead. Little did they know that their allies were also turning their back on them.

"Over there sir, over there! Those ships!" A naval ensign on the flagship warned his captain of the oncoming fleet.

"Relax, those are the Britannian ships coming to escort us back to Liberion. Prepare to hail them as they come near.

The naval ensign saluted as he complied. But as he looked at them, something is definitely strange.

"Mio." Minna addressed her squadmate.

"Yes. Please forgive us this time. Prepare for combat!" Mio prayed for forgiveness, as the 501st started their Strikers. After a few seconds, all of the 501st, except for Lynette, who was allowed to stay back at base because of the emotional trauma, were already in the air. At the same times, 5 battleships and 6 cruisers started turning their main guns towards the Gallian Fleet.

"What has this world become? We haven't finished fighting the Neuroi and yet we are fighting our own ally." Charlotte shook her head as she accelerated to her companion.

"Top brass…They only care about their own well-beings" Trude's hands clenched tightly onto her dual MG34, spoke with anger.

"Don't say that. Not all of the top brass are like that. They must have a reason when they decided on something this trivial." Minna corrected her speech.

"But I have a very bad feeling about this mission." It was the Suomus witch, Eila, who spoke out, one of her hands holding a tarot card.

"The moment our ships opened fire, we will immediately come in." Said Minna.

A couple of minutes later, the carnage begins.

The ships of the Royal Navy roared their guns simultaneously, exploding out into a fiery inferno, as shells pounded onto the Gallian Fleet's position, followed by Karlsland's ship, then Liberion's ships

One destroyer was immediately set on fire. A cruiser's rudder was destroyed, and couldn't navigate itself.

"What the hell are they doing?! Why are they attacking us?!"

"Friendly fire! Signal them!"

But to no avail.

The attacks were still as relentless and merciless as ever.

"They're not responding to us!"

"They leave us no choice! Return fire!" The captain shouted.

That was his last words, for he was shot dead, along with a few officers, by a barrage of machine gun fire that pierced through the windows of the ship.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Sanya-san, please target the front turret of that destroyer. It is where their ammunition bay is located." Perrine called out as she pointed. It was her homeland's ship design, so she knew perfectly clear the layouts of it.

"Hmm." Sanya nodded as she carefully aimed, firing four rockets from her Fliegerfaust, all hitting the same spot.

The destroyer, with its ammo rack critically damaged, blew up instantly, sending hundreds of its crewmen into the sea.

Another few hundred deaths, for nothing

The Gallian witch was hard-pressed not to wince at the sight, her eyes shutting tightly. That is to be expected anyway. Seeing her fellow countrymen perish is like a part of her dying. And now seeing her ally and friends killing them, what could possibly more painful than that.

The Gallian fleet's retaliated, with the firepower matching the strength of its peers. A few Britannian ships were struck by the shells from the Gallian fleet, but did not cause enough damage to cause a null in the fighting. Anti-air shells started flying at the witches, but their shields were too strong to break through.

Soon, one by one, the Gallian ships, being overwhelmed with numbers, firepower and air supremacy, was slowly disabled by the combined fleet's vessels. One battleship was sunken while the other two were crippled. The destroyers suffered a more terrible fate. 3 were completely destroyed, the rest were disabled, damaged, and was unable to carry out the fight. The number of deaths couldn't be summarized in exact numbers, but if they could, no one would want to know.

But the carnage didn't end there.

The battle has only just begun.

* * *

A few kilometers North East of the battle.

 _"_ _Sir, that cloud of dust."_ The Neuroi battlecruiser reported to his superior, Alexander, who was standing on top of a large zeppelin-like Neuroi.

He 'zoomed' his vision in the place he was indicating. Gunfire were seen from both side's vessels.

 _"_ _Are they fighting each other? That's the lowest stoop that I have ever seen. Well, that's good for us actually."_

Alexander immediately 'waved' his hand, as a form of signal. The fleet immediately formed into a formation that resembled the letter 'T', with two battlecruisers at the front, and a zeppelin at the back.

 _"_ _Ready the cannons."_

Sanya gasped all of a sudden.

"I've detected a group of something extremely large heading towards us from the North East" She said.

"What?!" Mio responded, shocked, as she lifted her eyepatch, staring in the distances.

Her face paled instantly.

"NEUROI!"

"What the?!"

"What?!"

"That can't be!"

But it's the truth. A heavy fleet of airborne Neurois slowly materialized behind the dispersing morning fog, and are closing in their distance with them. Or rather, closing the door of their hope of living.

"Witches of the 501st, into formation!" Minna delivered a hasty order to the witches.

"All ships, move out!" The captain of the combined fleet's flagship shouted out, as they all turned in his indicated direction.

"Full starboard salvo. Fire!"

The guns roared out again, this time at a much higher angle. The shells slammed onto the hull of the battlecruisers, cratering the ship. But after a few seconds, the hull instantly repaired itself, rendering those attacks useless.

 _"_ _Return fire!"_ The battlecruiser that just got shot immediately retaliated.

 _"_ _Hold on. Hold your fire."_ But it was stopped by Alexander, with a mild and delicate voice.

 _"_ _What? Why?"_ It was confused and irritated.

 _"_ _Do not spam your beams immediately. The witches are able to block our lasers. Concentrate those energies towards charging our main cannons. They'll never see it coming."_ The Neuroi commander detailed, with conciseness.

 _"_ _Yes sir."_

The combined fleet has already finished their first salvo, and is now firing at their will. But they were just scraping paints.

 _"_ _Charges complete sir, ready to fire."_ The first battlecruiser reported, as one huge barrel appeared below their hull.

 _"_ _Ready to blow them to bits sir."_ The second one followed suit.

 _"_ _Main guns, 20 degrees depression. Pick your own target, fire at my command."_ He ordered back, calmly, as the cruisers signaled complying messages.

The witches were confused why they weren't firing, but decided to wait for them to come, in order not to leave their own fleet, a target to protect, isolated.

The Suomus witch soon knew the reason.

"Miyafuji! Abunai! (Watch out!)" She cried out as her eyes widened in terror

 _"_ _Fire…"_

The next thing Yoshika registered, was her dodging to the left instinctively, and a huge laser beam zooming towards her at breakneck speed. She managed to raise her shield, blocking it, for a second. It only served as her split moment to escape the scythe of death. The shield soon cracked, but luckily, she managed to get out of the line of fire.

The beam rammed onto a Karlsland's heavy cruiser, blowing it up to bits.

"Arrghhh!" She groaned in pain as she clenched her arm tightly. It seemed that the beam didn't miss her completely.

"Miyafuji!"

Stunned, shocked and terrified, they were unable to stop the second beam. Thankfully, the battlecruiser decided not to attack the witches. But instead, a lone, unprotected battleship was its target.

The beam cut through the ship's main body like scissors cutting through papers. The huge battleship was reduced to rubble in a gigantic explosion. From the place the beam penetrated, an enormous mushroom cloud appeared, seeable from several hundred miles away.

"There's no way we'll win against those monsters!" A shocked naval cadet shouted in despair.

"Do not falter!" Their captains tried to give a boost to their morale, but to no avail.

"Full port side! Fire!" The flagship's captain, also the commander of the combined fleet, shouted, as machine guns and cannons spoke countless of bangs and booms. The shells, again, hit their targets, but didn't do much damage whatsoever.

"Fire as she bears!" Yet another barrages, but no results.

Without the agility and flexibility of the witches, the ships couldn't do anything.

* * *

 _"_ _They are already discouraged from our firepower."_ Alexander noted, with much confidence. _"Ready the pincer formation."_

 _"_ _Right! 15 degrees!"_ The battlecruiser to the right side reported.

 _"_ _Left! 15 degrees!"_ The other said the opposite.

 _"_ _Ready the hangar bays!"_ The two vessels 'shouted' in unison.

Almost simultaneously, the two battlecruisers at the front spread out, opening a clear line of fire for the zeppelin, which was following closely behind the two cruisers. Its heavily armored shell slowly opened, rolling up onto the top, revealing over 300 haunebu-type and dart-type Neurois within it. The hulls of the battlecruisers also opened, its underling Neurois on perfect standby for battle.

"Orders sir?!" The vice-captain yelled to his captain, as he saw his entire fleet are on the course of being caught between the blades of a guillotine.

"S-Send in the witches." He stuttered, as he knew at that moment, he had fucked up hard.

"But they are flying too closely together! Sending the witches in would be suicide!" The vice-captain protested.

"Just do it!" But it was met with a fiery but desperate retaliation.

The vice-captain stared in disbelief as he witnessed the first time his captain getting angry. Reluctantly, he gave the order.

"Witches of the 501st JFW, you are free to engage the enemy."

"Finally! Yes!" Gertrude shouted with slight relief as she dashed away

"Barkhorn! Don't get reckless!" Mio immediately followed, which is followed by another, then another, until there is a squadron of witches charging at the tight Neuroi formation, ready to drop terrors on the fleet behind them.

Gertrude was the first to reach the Neuroi formation, above just a few meters. She witnessed a tiny, human-like silhouette, standing straightly on top of the Neuroi zeppelin, its arms extended in command of something.

For a split second, their eyes met. His blood-red eyes glared at her, as cold and as piercing as a thousand needles, as if he knew all along that she was coming, and his death note is ready to write her name in it

She could feel her body temperature plummet, as a hellish smile crossed his face.

 _"_ _Incoming enemy air units! 12 o' clock! Witch type!"_

 _"_ _Rapid blasters. Fire."_ Alexander called, as dozens of red hexagons mounted on top of the cruisers and zeppelins opened fire at the same time. Multiple red beams vomited from those hexagons were sent flying at the Karlslander.

Gertrude holstered one of her guns, then hastily put up a shield, blocking the oncoming lasers.

While she was distracting the Neuroi's firing, the rest of the witches barged in, opening fire their own personal weapons, swarming around the Neuroi fleet.

They waited for this exact moment.

 _"_ _Fighters, release all your firepower. The dogfight shall begin."_

It was the beginning of a nightmare for the combatants.

Only a few minutes later that the eyes of the witches opened as wide as their mouth, which is barely restrained from dropping at the scene in front of them. Nearly 1000 Neurois were painting the bright blue sky black, as beams flew vertically, horizontally and diagonally everywhere. And the witches were caught in the middle. It is a fish in a barrel, and the Neurois are the shooters with machine guns.

"Huurrgghh!" Charlotte gave a cry, as she opened her shield, blocking 3 incoming beams. Just a few hundred beams to go.

"There are so many. I couldn't concentrate on anything!" Her partner, Lucchini, had a huge problem trying to concentrate her special power.

"Evasive maneuver. Try to regroup outside their firing range. Most of their firepower originate from those two ultra-heavy battlecruisers, so as long as we can leave their scope, we can organize a counter attack." Minna calmly commanded.

The witches instantly soared, their altitude increasing at an amazing rate. They were followed by a torrent of Neuroi drones, but was shot down before they could open fire. And soon enough, Alexander called off the pursue.

 _"_ _They'll come to us eventually. Divert your energies to the upper guns. Drones, crush those puny ships."_

The drones immediately changed their courses.

"They are attacking the fleet instead?!"

"Barkhorn, tell the captain to disengage immediately! We cannot take three ultra-heavy types at the same time." Minna ordered. "Mio, look for the core of these three ships. We have to, at least, take one of them out right here."

"Roger." Mio lifted her eyepatch and gazed down upon the Neuroi pack. Her fovea appeared three red polyhedrons, two in the middle of the two battlecruisers, and the other one…inside a young man standing on top of the blimp.

"What?!" She exclaimed loudly.

"What is it, Mio?"

"I've found the three cores, but the core of the zeppelin is not within it. There is someone standing on it, and that core is inside him."

"Inside?" Minna activated her ability as well. "It really is inside of him. But who the hell is he?"

"It must be the human that we are talking about…wait…but he has a core inside of him. That makes him a Neuroi. But there is no Neuroi that can take the full shape of a human body…God! It's so confusing!"

"This isn't the time to consider that. The core is inside him. That means if we take him out, we'll destroy their entire zeppelin."

"Witches! Your target is the human-like creature on top of the zeppelin. It might be their commander. Take him out, and their advances will halt!"

"Hai!" The witches yelled in complete unison, as they began the magnificent dive towards their target.

Death from above, like an eagle aiming for its preys, they opened fire, guns blazing into the ship's hull, tearing off their exterior like a knife scraping a fish's scale.

 _Looks like I'm compromised._

 _"_ _Prepare the anti-air cannons. Cruiser 1, fire at my command, at once. Cruiser 2, wait 3 seconds and then fire, in short burst."_ Alexander commanded.

 _"_ _Roger."_

 _"_ _Roger!"_

 _Let's see how well you respond, witches._

* * *

"Hmph!" As the first barrages of beams flew towards them, Yoshika quickly deployed a gigantic shield that neutralized all the oncoming lasers, allowing her teammates to pass through.

Then comes the second wave.

It all came down to the witch's agility. It was fairly easy for Eila, since she was able to see the future, but for the others, because of the un-Neuroi-like firing pattern, it was like writing with your left hand while you are right-handed. Alexander's unorthodox firing pattern kept the witches guessing and it was extremely difficult to know what was coming until the Neurois had already taken the shot. All because of their endless unresourceful encounters with the same Neurois and the same battle tactics all over and over again, making these girls less adaptable to sudden changes. It proved to be fatal in these kind of situation, when facing against smart opponents like Alexander.

But still, they were able to fire down on the zeppelins, which was more or less, accurate enough to hit the young Neuroi down there. However, more is needed to kill him.

Eila, with her superior evasive skills, was the first to encounter the zeppelins, or rather Alexander. The first thing she did was unloading her entire clip onto his position.

 _Not bad._

The bullets were intriguing and quite painful, but because they were spread out, so his regenerative ability patched it up quickly.

Alexander's palm heated up in an instant as a response. Three beams were fired, straight to her. His expectations were betrayed as she dodged it with ease, even though they were behind her.

The moment he turned his back around was the moment he was bombarded with dozens of shells from the eye-patched Fusan, exposing his core through his thick coat.

"Mio! Finish him off!"

Mio immediately discarded her gun, and unsheathed her sword.

Raising it to above her head, she gave a long and deafening roar, as the sword glowed, brightly, blue-lighted, with intense energy that could blast any small Neuroi in its way.

"REPPUZAN!"

That intense energy, is coming down at the Neuroi at lightning speed, now only a few hundred meters from his exposed core, ready to bisect him into pieces.

Under one hundred.

Then fifty.

Ten meters.

But…

 _Fun time is over._

…it didn't kill him, as it didn't even hit him

By a split second, from his crouched position, he jumped to his right. The arc slashed on where he had been just half a second ago. The intense magic on the sword left a massive ploughing mark on the airship's shell that extended from the middle of it towards the upper flaperron, sending white Neuroi particles everywhere.

The following second, he was already standing, his right foot stomped onto Mio's blade. His back, his coat and his zeppelin gradually rematerialized, returning to their normal state.

The next thing the Major registered, was an painful earth-splitting axe kick from the human-like Neuroi to her nape.

"Shosan! (Major!)" Perrine screamed out in horrors as she watched her Major being neutralized, helplessly.

"Argghh!" She groaned in pain, coughing repeatedly, as she noticed her sword being taken by Alexander, who held it with his two hands. With interested eyes, he looked down on the Fusan witch, patiently waited for her to regain her senses before speaking, in a human voice.

"What is that technique that you just used? It looks interesting."

"Wha…W-" She spoke, panting heavily. "What the hell are you? How are you able to possess both a Neuroi core and a human body?"

"Me? It is…a long story. It's not explanatory in this kind of situation, when your friends could rush in for the rescue at any moment." He replied, calmly looking at the swarming witches. "For now, imagine and speculate all you could think of. The answer lies somewhere within it."

She was truly shocked, at how the man was able to converse so fluently with her.

Being able to talk human languages, he must be human.

But she saw it for her own eyes, the others saw it as well, the unmistakable red polyhedron Neuroi core inside his back. And the signature red hexagon patterns, and regenerative ability.

He can't be human.

Then he must be a Neuroi.

But there is no Neuroi that can play the role of a human being.

But it can't be.

But…

What the hell is going on?!

She asked herself.

Who is this man standing in front of her?

"You'll never hurt the Major! Tonnerre!"

Suddenly, a wave of electrical surge went through the entire ship, taking Alexander by surprise, sending a shock through his entire body. For the Major, she thankfully wasn't affected, due to her magic.

He was shocked for a few seconds, crouched again, immobilized, but soon stood up, unharmed.

Despite under fire from the Gallian's Bren light machine gun, Alexander looked up at her, as calm as a cucumber.

Then to the Major, his hand changing the grip on her sword.

His eyes said it all.

"Let me deduce. Your sword technique relies on focusing your magic at the point of the blade, to perform a powerful slash. So in our way of doing it, it kind of works like…this."

He held the blade with one hand, the handle forty-five degrees pointing upwards, the blade placed against his waist, firmly.

With only sheer determination, his inner energies began to flow.

The blade radiated with intense heat.

His hand trembled under pressure

It's overflowing.

The blade.

It's stark and overwhelming.

Its power calls

At one point, the sword burst into a red flame, burning fiercely and gracefully on the silver blade.

"That is!"

"Mio's Reppuzan?!"

The witches of the 501st could only look in shock and horrors as the legendary and trademark sword technique of the Fusan being recreated in front of their eyes, by a mysterious talking creature, who saw it only once in his entire life.

Just who the hell is this guy?

"Rep-pu-zan."

Following the cold voice, was a merciless swing, sending the titanic amount of energy saved up in his sword into a huge red arc, flying dangerously quickly at the witches; particularly Perrine.

"What is this?!"

She doesn't even have enough time to raise her shield.

Perrine H. Clostermann, one of the veteran witches who had survived countless battle, is on the verge of perishing, by an allied technique being copy-catted by some nobody.

She closed her eyes tightly, unable to resist the attack, accepting her imminent doom.

But fortunately, fate has spared her this time.

"Kyahhhh!" Another heroic shielding from Yoshika, who is still wounded from the earlier battles. Her gigantic and powerful shield, once again, cracked under the powerful gale slash. The intense pressure sent Yoshika crashing onto the stunned Perrine behind her. Miraculously, they were both unharmed.

"Miyafuji-san?! Are you alright?!" Contrary to her usual jealous behavior towards Yoshika, Perrine was seriously concerned about her squadmate.

"I'm fine, I'm just…a little tired." She could only mutter, as the vitality in her eyes soon faded, as she collapsed in Perrine's arms.

One less witches to be dealt with.

"Yoshika-chan! You'll not hurt her!" Even the usually reserved Sanya had to utter a toughened voice. She flew to a position 50 meters from Alexander, and launched her rockets.

The four rockets blew up when they made contact with the zeppelin's shell, one directly hitting Alexander in his shoulder, creating a huge black smoke screen that blinded everyone, both inside and outside the smoke.

For a few minutes, there was a lull in the fighting, because of the fact that Sakamoto was stuck inside it, and they could not register each other's position, and Alexander's.

But as they cleared up, the battle immediately turned decisive.

A flash suddenly appeared in the middle of the fog, a tiny point reflecting the sunlight into Sanya's eyes.

And comes the Reppumaru, zooming at her at incredible speed.

Her only reaction was a gasp.

Then the sword punched through her…left striker.

Through the propeller region, the sword was stuck tightly in her striker, crippling her entire left engine. She immediately toppled, almost dropping her rocket launcher onto the ocean. Now she can only use her right striker for movements, which makes her incredibly vulnerable, as thousands of beams are instantly and relentlessly flung towards her.

"Sanya-chan! Commander! We can't continue on like this!" Eila shouted in great anxiety.

"All units, fall back!" Minna finalized the decisive order. Continuing the fight would be suicidal, as some of the witches are now unlikely to fight properly.

One by one, the witches started to retreat, pursued by hundreds of smaller Neurois. Sanya, supported by Eila, were the first to land on the Britannian carrier. Then Charlotte and Lucchini. Then Perrine, carrying Yoshika on her back. Gertrude and Erica retreated afterwards. Then finally, Minna and Mio fell back to the carrier, as the fleet turned away, at maximum speed.

 _"_ _Sir, they are getting away!"_ One battlecruiser reported to Alexander.

 _"_ _Wait a second. Let me regenerate"_ Alexander replied, as he clutched onto his left shoulder, his arm missing.

He started converting his energies into it, trying to materialize another arm.

But somehow, it didn't have the effect that he had expected.

It only comes down to only one conclusion.

Exhaustion.

 _"_ _On second thought, no."_

 _"_ _Huh?"_ Said the confused cruiser

 _"_ _That sword has drained all my energy. By only a strike. Such enormous power. And yet that witch uses it without strain."_ Alexander complimented, as he panted heavily. _"She is truly a strong individual. May we meet again."_

 _"_ _Do you need towing sir?"_

 _"_ _Yes, please do."_

 _"_ _It is a pity. I was eager to kill these witches."_ The second cruiser spoke.

 _"_ _Oh, it's not too worrying."_ Alexander said, his blood-red eyes gazing down onto the disabled Gallian fleet.

 _"_ _The once most concerning problem, is now one of our valuable assets."_

* * *

 **Ok, there may be a bit of a confusion here. From what I have read, the Reppuzan only uses magic from the witches, not like in Alexander's case, which he uses his own energies for it. Well, this is a mistake on my part, so I think you'll have to assume that the Neuroi's energy is the same as witches' magics. I'll probably go with that as well.**

 **Stay tune for more chapters**


	4. Chapter 4: From the shadows

**Chapter 4 of The day Britannia fell.**

 **It feels quite stressing from having to write two fics at the same time. But oh well, I've already thrown the javelin so...gonna have to follow it.**

 **Special thanks to Gamerman22 for the character Jynetta. Don't worry about the plot line, I've managed to make it fit for both of us. Well, this chapter, her role isn't really significant, but in later chapters, she will, so stay tune.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own SW or any of its characters, nor the OCs I borrowed.**

* * *

Chapter 4: From the shadows

Somewhere in outer suburb of London

The place stands a large building, completely dominating the landscape nearby by its unusual features. It is only a two stories building, but its height is 200 meters soaring, patterned by red hexagons.

No doubts, it is a Neuroi's building, specifically the production building.

Inside the second floor, exist a huge cylindrical machine, with a tube made of transparent aluminum. There were no wires like human's machines, only panels, which is used mainly through interaction with the machine itself.

There, a figure stands.

And inside the machine, yet another one, this time a familiar one, floating within the water inside with a glowing left arm.

 _'_ _Ten more minutes to go.'_ Eris checked the time using her internal clock, patiently

The time she spent under the command of Alexander has given her the virtue of respecting the flowing of time. She isn't particularly impatient by birth, but having a gap in intellectuality with the young commander means she had to deal with a few questionable task that he gave her. It was certainly preferable to help him with what he wanted to do, but considering common senses, it wasn't really tactical to say. Nevertheless, for some reasons, most of them worked out.

Ten minutes for her is just a blink of an eye, as she waited, until the panels of the machine glowed with intensity.

Slowly, the machine powered down, the water was drained from the tube, and the floating figure soon descended on the bottom of the tube, its arm stopped illuminating.

That figure, was no other than Alexander Kherol, the conqueror of Britannia.

The tube was then removed, and he took a first step, to the outside of the machine, wearing his usual black coat, only without the left sleeve.

 _"_ _Sorry, but I cannot rematerialize the missing part of your coat. That will have to rely on your own data of it. Also your zeppelin body of yours, it requires a bit of time before you can reconnect yourself to it."_ Eris said to him, as he jumped down to the floor. Looking at her smugly with his crimson red eyes, he replied

 _"_ _You've already done most of the work. Now, do you mind recapping everything?"_

 _"_ _Sure, the result of the previous battle is very encouraging. The Gallian fleet aside, 3 battleships of the combined fleet were destroyed, 1 heavily damaged. Another 6 of their cruisers and 4 of their destroyers were sunk, along with various aircrafts. But unfortunately, the carrier still managed to retreat unharmed. On our side, around 400 small sized aircrafts were destroyed."_ She detailed

 _"_ _A good margin. How about the Gallian fleet?"_

 _"_ _About that, this way."_ She hovered away, quick paced.

Eris escorted Alexander away from the recovery area, all the way to the port near river Thames. There a huge Gallian battleship was floating savagely in the water. The ship was broken in two, its main mast missing, while the secondary batteries faring no better, unrecognizable. Fortunately, the main batteries are still in working state, and only that is already enough for Alexander.

Arriving near it, Eris finally stopped, facing Alexander, and spoke.

 _"_ _This is battleship Britagne, lead ship of the Gallian Britagne-class battleship. This is the ship that was sunk in the last attack by the combined fleet before you intervened."_

 _"_ _Its design looks old, and outdated. Seems like it was built somewhat 30 years ago."_ He replied.

 _"_ _Perceptive as always. You're right. It was built in the 1910s, the main armament was also a 1914 model, 370mm in caliber."_

 _"_ _That doesn't seem to be powerful, is it?"_

 _"_ _For the ships of the time, it is powerful. But now, not really. Its modules and armaments, comparing to its peers, the HMS Hood, the Bismarck, and the latest Fusan battleship, the Yamato, aren't anything."_

 _"_ _The Yamato? Be more specific about that."_

 _"_ _IFN Yamato, one of the few super-battleships that floated in the world's ocean, is the command ship of the entire Fusan naval command facilities. Its info on its armament is still a stub, but rumors said that it is equipped with three menacing 460 mm tri-cannons, along with a few 155 mm secondaries."_

 _"_ _46?"_ His eyes widened in surprise. _"That's interesting."_ But after that is a confident smirk.

 _"_ _That will prove to be a great hindrance when faced in a battle. Or maybe that is also their win condition."_

 _"_ _Don't worry yourself too much. As soon as we receive new information about this ship, we'll analyze it carefully."_

 _"_ _Hmm."_ She nodded her faceless head, as Alexander continued.

 _"_ _Judging by the marks on the hull, the fading color of the paint, this old battleship must have contained a lot of information. Any success in finding them?"_

 _"_ _Well, we couldn't savage most of the cargos, but we've managed to capture a few of the sailors that were stuck in the lower deck when the ship sank. We're interrogating them right now. Hopefully they'll leak some information soon."_

 _"_ _Once finished, take this to the reconstruction center. This battleship will prove to be quite a good asset for our fleet."_

 _"_ _Yes sir."_

Alexander nodded lightly a few times in acknowledgement.

 _"_ _Also, allow me to remind you of the arrangement we have today."_

 _"_ _Today?"_ He inquired.

 _"_ _The emperor may have mentioned that in his telegram to you yesterday. Reread it if necessary."_

As she said that, Alexander instantly switched himself off, concentrating his energy to the message reading and converting system in his core.

 _"_ _Yes, you're right."_ He switched back after a few minutes. _"A strategy meeting, at the Berlin hive."_

 _"_ _It starts in less than 2 hours. If you want to make it there in time, we have to go, now."_

 _"_ _I agree."_

The duo traveled to the transport center, which was a few hundred meters away from their position. There they took the high-speed transport pod, a cylinder like shuttle which can travel at up to Mach 1, used mostly for inter-hive transportation. Here, because the Britannian hive hasn't been set up just yet, the transport center also serves as hangars for the pods.

The pod is 2 meters in width and height, 3 meters in length. There is only one seat, because this is intentionally for one user only.

 _"_ _This is quite cramped for two."_ Alexander noted, as he tried to free his shoulder from being stuck on the side of the pod.

 _"_ _We only have one pod to spare here. The time when setting up a hive is the best time to maintain vehicles, so you get the point."_

 _"_ _1 hour shouldn't be long."_

After settling in their seat, Eris sets the destination for the pod.

Berlin hive

Transport section A2.

Begin.

Having pressed the button, the pod began to move. At first, slowly. Then it accelerated, quicker and quicker, until a huge white cone-like vapor could be seen at one moment at the rear of the pod, an indicator that the shuttle has reached supersonic speed.

 _Better take a nap._

The shuttle, despite moving at incredible speed, is running quite smooth, and is surprisingly comfortable, aside from the fact that he is sharing this with his adjutant. He must admit, it isn't bad to spend this with her, but if there was one more pod, he would choose to use it.

He laid his back onto the ship's side, carefully placing his leg so that it would not get in the way of Eris.

After making himself comfortable, his eyelids closed. And his consciousness was drifted away slowly.

To a vast unknown region, where he is the center of everything.

He is in a huge grass plain

Looking around, he could see nothing, nothing but grass and greens.

It is a plain of nowhere. A huge, unending plain that only existed in one place.

Dream.

A dream that came to a person who is never supposed to have one.

 _Just what?_

He was clearly confused, struggling to soak this into his data storing system.

 _Where am I?_

All of this experience, no strangers to human, but is so foreign to him. Neurois aren't capable of dreaming, their core could not discern this new phenomenon. But for some reason, he is seeing this, with his red eyes, the unbelievable things happening around him.

Reasons…

"Alexander…"

A voice called out to him, from somewhere.

It's hard to figure it out whose voice, where it is coming from, and its implication. But it certainly is a female one.

"Alex…"

And it sounded familiar, yet distant.

"You may be different from us. But we are willing to welcome you…."

Not the usual Neuroi's communication method.

He looked around again, but couldn't trace the origin of it.

"We know, you are not the one who you think you are."

 _What is she talking about?_

He couldn't even sense where it is coming from.

But it wasn't hostile. It was rather…warm.

He didn't dislike it.

 _"_ _Alex."_

It was so…peaceful.

 _"_ _Alex. Wake up"_

His body suddenly regained life. He was back, to reality.

 _"_ _We're here?"_ Alexander lifted his body to see the pod already docked in its specific location. The engine is still hot, so it looks like it has just arrived.

 _"_ _You seem to have a good sleep."_ She noted.

 _"_ _I do. In that sleep, I had…a dream."_ He answered, his mind still fresh with the vast and endless grass field.

 _"_ _Dream? Is it even possible? Are you sure you aren't making things up?"_ But Eris is in disbelief.

 _"_ _According to human's definition, images between sleeps are dreams. I believe what I saw is indeed a dream."_

 _"_ _What did you see?"_

 _"_ _An empty grass plain, with someone calling me from afar."_

 _"_ _That sounds creepy."_

 _"_ _But it's actually the opposite. I actually liked it, until you woke me up."_

 _"_ _Sorry for ruining your dream, but we can't afford to be late."_

 _"_ _I know. Let's get out of here."_

They both exited the shuttle, preparing themselves for the important meeting that was to come.

* * *

Berlin's super-hive.

1830.

The night over Karlsland's capital, Berlin, isn't that much different from the day, because of the presence of the super-giant hive that clouded every single corner of the city. A few dozen kilometers of width, length and height, seen from the surface of the moon, this serves as the Neuroi's largest base of operation, with powerful ultra-heavy types numbering to hundreds, gathering in its hangars, while thousands of smaller sized patrolled the city, every hour, every minute.

On the top of the cone-like base, height reaching the orbital level, a large spacious room, with views magnificently overseeing the endless horizon, contains several Neurois inside, most of whom, have human-like forms.

 _"_ _I'm certain that there is no humans would dare to come near our storage hive at Gallia. While it's true that there are some rebel insurgents rising there, there is absolutely no evidence that they are intending to steal our valuable assets."_ One faceless Neuroi, who is covered simply in black coverings and red dots, voiced his own views, in great confidence.

 _"_ _No evidence, but that doesn't mean the humans aren't capable, or aren't planning to do so! There is always a possibility that they will take action to raid the hive, and steal our necessities!"_ The human-like Neuroi, with a long waist-length brown hair, glassy red eyes, and red hexagons dotting several spots on her body, replied, in a very irritated way, as ever since she arrived at this room, none of her opinions were quite accepted or considered.

 _"_ _But we can't afford to spend resources to this nontrivial matter. Remember, we are having a conquest, and as far as I know, those humans aren't ready to give up yet."_ He replied, in a way calmer than her, but on the inside, he is already seeing the blues. He wasn't the one who is into diverse viewpoint.

 _"_ _But what would you say if it becomes trivial?"_ Suddenly, a calm yet calculated voice echoed from the back of the room, drawing everyone's attention as a shadow emerges, wearing thick clothes and a peaked cap.

As the shadow came closer, the room occupants soon realized the Neuroi talking to them: First-in-command, commander of Earth's expeditionary forces, supreme general, Alexander Kherol.

 _"_ _General Gawain?"_ He finished his question, as he finally stepped into the light.

 _"_ _Ah, supreme general Alexander."_ One Neuroi, with a human figure, wearing somewhat a plain dark grey uniform, with no decorations whatsoever, aside from a few red hexagons, said, in a respectful manner. He is the captain and overseer of the Neuroi's hives on Earth, and will be the one supervising the construction of the Britannian hive, Walfried Lzammer.

Upon hearing the name of the powerful Neuroi commander who conquered three of the largest nations on Earth, the female Neuroi couldn't resist saluting to him, albeit awkwardly and a bit flustered.

 _"_ _At ease, at ease."_ Alexander raised his hand in gesture. _"Respect is good but you needn't stress things out like that."_

The girl put down her arm, struggling to do what he said.

 _"_ _Now, what would you say, general?"_ His voice suddenly turned manipulative.

 _"_ _Umm, your question again?"_ Asked Gawain

 _"_ _What would you say if the humans actually do the break-in, and steal our works for their own weapons?"_

 _"_ _They won't. I can assure you."_

 _"_ _Then what if they do. Put yourself in that situation."_ The others' inner temperature suddenly dropped, as a ghostly, but terrifying voice came from the supreme general.

 _"_ _Well, that's…"_ He took a long pause, obviously struggling to find an answer.

 _"_ _If you are so sure, then place your dignity to this bet. I'll put mine to it."_ Alexander then placed his hand on the table in front of him, as a gesture of betting, and looked at Gawain, unwavering, waiting for an answer.

He already knew the result it from the beginning.

 _"_ _Alright, I'm quite convinced."_ Gawain said in resignation. Honor and dignity, it's the two things he can never put ahead.

The girl looked at Alexander in awe as he just tamed his impulsive subordinate.

 _"_ _Can you explain this a bit, sir?"_ She said.

 _"_ _Sure…"_ He accepted, but took a moment of silence to ask her name.

 _"_ _Jynetta, sir."_

 _"_ _Yes, Jynetta. Well, Eris, help me."_ He called out, and she came to him from the shadow. She placed her hand onto the table panel, and shut down some of her body parts so as to import data into the table. Then a few centimeters from the surface of the table, a hologram appeared, showing a profile of a middle-aged human officer, having a fade mustache, with a black peaked cap and a Britannian officer uniform.

 _"_ _This is the profile of a certain human officer of the witches, air chief marshal Trevor Maloney."_ Alexander began. _"Before the fall of their homeland, the Britannian air force sometimes executed early morning air skirmishes on some certain locations in Gallia, with forces numbering from 1 to 2 of their squadron."_

Eris then switches to a map of Gallia.

 _"_ _This is all of its location. Taken separately it may seem unrelated, but if you look closer, over half of these skirmishes happened near, or very close to the Gallian hive, a fortress of our battlefront troops."_

 _"_ _Maloney is currently the commander of the 501_ _st_ _Joint Fighter Wings, a squadron of witches who opposed our attacks on Britannia. A capable but delusional officer, he holds…quite a grudge against the use of witches in combat."_ Eris shut off the hologram, and returned to her normal self, to support Alexander's theory.

 _"_ _But sir, how did you know so much?"_ Walfried asked, curious, as Alexander tossed a few sheet of papers on the table.

 _"_ _Private correspondence of this guy to his subordinate officers. My network of intelligencers has been restless these days."_

The three Neurois picked up each of them, skimming through it, in awe as if they had struck gold.

 _"_ _They haven't completely revealed their plans yet, but according to these private letters, they are currently developing some kind of mecha, to replace the witches in our opposition. The contents also mentioned the use of Neuroi technology in this mecha, but what they will use is still a mystery. It could be our laser technology, or regenerative technology. But in any cases, this is enough proof that the humans are plotting to steal our assets."_

The detailed explanation has carved an inch of information onto the storing system of all the listeners, and Gawain could only sighed in relief that he didn't bet his dignity to this.

 _"_ _Then what do you intend to do to solve this?"_ He said.

 _"_ _I won't stop them right away. I will let them complete and execute their plans accordingly to them. And then I will rain utter defeat down upon them. Their overconfidence…shall be their greatest demise."_

Alexander's voice, calm, yet cynical, eliminates all questions and doubts lingering in their minds. Although not concisely drawn out, the way he put it makes it so persuasive that they see it as almost flawless.

He knew what he is doing. That is what they thought.

* * *

Underground London.

2330

The weather in December could drop to a low of 3 degrees Celcius. Usually endurable for most Britannians, provided that they are given warmth clothing. Not for someone who had her clothes tattered after the battle that costed her entire country, and living under a humid underground prison.

"Bishop-san, are you alright?" Patricia said, as she wrapped one of her arms around her cellmate, deeply worried about her friend's well-being.

"I'm ok." Wilma replied, trying her best to force a cheery smile. But behind the smile was the exhausting white fume, frozen by the cold temperature, and a hot forehead.

"You're not." Cecelia also noted the redness of her face, as she came closer, touching her forehead. "You're heating up. I think you have a fever."

"It will go away soon. Don't worry." Yet another forced smile and reassurance from her. It didn't really work, her heavy breathing is seriously concerning.

"We have to do something, she won't last in this cold weather with such clothes." Patricia exclaimed, as she watches Cecelia shaking her head.

"We aren't faring any better. If we let her borrow our clothes, we'll freeze to death, naked."

"Then what can we do?" Patricia watched her friend's breathing getting labored. Feeling as if it was necessary, she moved closer to her, and hugged her, lightly, hoping that her body temperature would rise her, then followed by Cecelia.

Until a certain figure entered the prison.

"You three are still awake?"

It is Alexander.

"What do you want from us?!" The twin-tailed witch immediately bolted up, cursing venoms at him.

"You know, the reason I came all the way from Berlin is to check up on you guys, not to hear your rebukes."

"Check-up? Is this what you called checking up?! By leaving us to freeze to death?!"

"Well, it's getting a bit cold in here-" It was not until he came close to the prison cell that his facial expressions started to change.

"Huh…You again?" Wilma opened her eyes, to see the coated Alexander's grim expression.

He looked behind him, to see no one.

The guards weren't there, for some reason.

He was alone, with the three Britannian, one of whom was pretty severely sick.

But hell, it was just one night. How come one person could be in that situation after one night?

"Are you pretending things?"

"Tell that to your guards. They fed us nothing, not even a single drop of clean water."

No wonder he isn't here at the moment.

He's dead for sure.

 _My hours have been stolen._

Alexander thought so, as he eyed her again. Witnessing her face getting pale, her lips getting dry from the cold climate, he sighed.

 _Who am I kidding?_

Suddenly, the prison cell door was opened, surprising the three prisoners.

Walking slowly into it, the young Neuroi appears towering over the three girls, his expressions unreadable.

His knees then bended down as he approached the trio. By force, he pushed the two girls hugging her, and wrapped his arms around Wilma, lifting her up. At first, she offered resistance, but due to her fever, and Alexander's Neuroi strength, she eventually gave in to him.

"What are you doing?!" Patricia yelled out to Alexander, as he placed the sick Wilma on his back.

"That's none of your concern. I'm not going to do anything to her, so just rest with ease." He replied, with only a peak of his eyes looking back.

"I'm not gonna let you take her away!" She lashed out, holding his coat tightly, determined not to let go.

But to her surprise, he lets go of…his coat.

Simply by dispositioning the Neuroi particles, he dropped the coat onto her, revealing a black, long sleeved clothes with red embellishments at the front. Then he quickly closed and locked the cell door

With nothing to grip on, she had no choice but watch him carrying her friend, Wilma, away, helpless.


	5. Chapter 5: Guardian

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Strike Witches and all its characters. Only the OCs belong to me. The others should be given credits to their owners respectively**

* * *

Chapter 5: Guardian.

She was surrounded by Neurois. Her striker's engine was shot open, exposing its mechanical parts. It was a miracle that it somehow continued to operate despite the damage. She had been having a vain hope of just landing on the ground, safe and sound, with her squadmates. But she simply and obviously couldn't.

Because her homeland was right behind her.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone here onee-san!" A Britannian witch, her hands holding a Boys anti-armor rifle, shouted out, her eyes nearly in tears, as she watched the destruction of a church down below.

"You're not leaving me Lynne. It's just a temporary retreat. You need supplies, ammunitions. You can't fight without them you know." Wilma instantly placed her two arms onto her younger sister's, wearing an assuring but forced smile. She knew that only this could convince her to go.

"But what about you? Aren't you low on ammo as well?" Lynette asked.

"I'll be fine. I still have a belt of magazines here." She pointed at her belly. "Don't worry. Your onee-san can handle it!" Then she readjusted her leather cap, confidently (or rather pretending to be)

"Alright. Be safe, onee-san!" She finally flew away. That was the last time she ever saw her.

Wilma turned around, to see entire London bursting with explosions, with thousands of small and medium-sized Neurois engaging the relatively few witches that were still operational. She knew at that point, that this battle was hopeless.

But the thought of abandoning London did not cross her mind.

She would go down, dying along with it.

Wilma dashed forward, with her Bren machine gun held firmly in her hands. Noticing the attacking witch, the Neurois didn't miss the opportunity to open fire on her. With shields raised, she blocked the incoming lasers with ease, as she rained punishment on those who just laid a hand on her. Her ballistic stabilisation proved to be priceless to her during these times.

She passed the first screen of haunebu-type Neurois quickly, and then she engaged the medium blimp-type, which was relatively harder and tougher than small Neurois. Small Neurois' core are small and are placed firmly inside its tiny silhouette, so only a single hit to its can decimate it and tear it into pieces, but bigger Neurois have cores that are capable of regenerating themselves. A common way to defeat these types are to destroy its core, its central command of all actions.

She looked around as she picked her target: an isolated blimp who apparently had launched and directed their fighters too far away that it was laying vulnerable to enemy's sabotages.

Her first course of action was to empty a clip into it, firing randomly, focusing a bit on its centre, as the core is usually there.

After one, two, three and four magazines, the core finally exposed, and Wilma quickly reloaded and finish it off.

But soon after the kill, she realized her doom.

Out just a few kilometres away, a screen of smoke suddenly faded, revealing a gigantic battlecruiser looming. Its hull blazed a few times in red light, once every few minutes. It wasn't shooting rapidly like the other Neurois. That's the strange part.

That strange part is only a part of the battle tactics of supreme commander Alexander, and Wilma was going to learn it the hard and painful way.

As she tried to maneuver away, the cruiser suddenly charged a blinding red orb in front of it.

A huge laser zoomed in on her.

Wilma hastily and instinctively put up a shield, but it wasn't enough to stop its attack. The shield cracked the moment the laser came into contact, exploding and sending her spiralling down to the ground.

Words and cries could be faintly heard from her teammates, as they tried to reach out for her in desperation. All she registered was the dark blue colour of water.

She was shot down.

* * *

Inside the medium-sized Neuroi quarter, the young Alexander was sitting on the chair, his hand firmly holding a book, reading it, when he heard the girl lying on the nearby bed moaning in agony.

"Hmm."

His head jerked up.

"I-I"

He saw her body sweating.

"I don't want to die yet…"

 _Bad dreams huh?_

After seeing her like it, he immediately went for the bed, and he shook her body. But as it somehow didn't work, he turned to shook the bed instead, violently.

"Ahhh!" She finally woke up. Her eyes filled with terror

"Rise and shine freeman." Alexander said, as he stopped the shaking.

"Where the hell am I?" It took her a few moments for her groggy vision to finally register that she is in a Neuroi's room, which is filled with all the signature red hexagons.

"You're in the Neuroi's personal quarter. You humans' hospital's infrastructure are too out-of-date for me to use."

"What happened?"

"You have hypothermia, but luckily it was only at stage 1. The thing that made your condition worsen so quickly was the fact that you were not given any food or drinks for the last two days."

She remained silent, as Alexander took a peek at her lying on the bed.

"So I placed you in our recovery chamber. You shouldn't have taken that long to wake up."

"Wait…" She interrupted him, while looking down on her body. She wasn't wearing her usual garments, but a black thermal clothes that tightly fitted onto her body.

"Where is my clothes?" She asked, suspiciously.

"It was torn, and not fitted to be placed in the chamber, so it was removed and replaced."

"H-How dare you!"

Her face suddenly flushed red, nothing different from a tomato, as she shouted impulsively. It is unknown if it is due to anger or embarrassment.

But to the contrary of the rash reaction of the young Britannian, Alexander simply turned around, calmly, facing her with a gaze that sees through everything.

"You misunderstand. It was my adjutant, Eris, who changed your clothes, not me. I wouldn't be such an indecent individual."

Upon hearing the name, which is obviously a female name, her sudden outburst died down. But the intense blush did not subside, even getting redder and redder every seconds. She kept her heads low to hide that.

Alexander simply didn't care, as he turned away

"Your condition has been normalized. You will be returning to your cell by today."

"The cell? No way! I'm not returning to that hellhole!" She shouted protests again. And once more, Alexander looked at her with the perceptive eyes that see through everything.

"It's not to worry. The guard that failed to treat you and your two friends adequately…is already terminated."

"T-Terminated?" The word struck her hard, despite it was the Neuroi that got the consequences.

"Or rather, his core was removed, devolved into a much smaller one. He's now having 'fun' with his new dart-type body." The explanation did ease her tension a bit, but still, just by disobeying…

"But isn't he your soldier? How can you treat your men like that?" Wilma then turned to criticize him.

Alexander chuckled slightly.

"Do you know the difference between a good and a bad soldier?"

"No."

"A good soldier disobeys, then takes responsibilities. Bad ones try to get away with it. This empire needs no soldiers like that."

"But that's cruel!"

"Then what sort of punishments do you think would be best suitable?" He replied, calmly, as opposed to Wilma's outburst.

He's right.

A devolution is nothing different from a demotion or discharge in her own army. But there, at least the soldiers are able to keep their own body. Here, a devolution means they will have their minds, their body changed permanently. Not to mention being transferred to a battlefield where you can easily serve as cannon fodders to the enemy. It's not what she is used to.

"I understand. I'm a visitor to your world. We share so many different viewpoints that none of us could get how we act to our own kinds. That's a regretful mark, but a common sense to us all." He started walking around the room again as he said.

"But nonetheless…" But he suddenly stopped. "You'll have to get used to it. Once my conquest is over, Earth will be part of the great Neuroi empire. Then, you'll have to live under its rules and regulations."

"Hmpph! Like we will let that happen!" She scoffed, staring deeply into his bloody-red eyes.

"You have to, like how I have to."

"Why do you have to when you are force imposing your own ideals on us?"

"To defeat an enemy you must know them." He said. "Not just strategies, tactics, but also culture, art, and most importantly…ideology."

That is studying the way people think, feel and act around others.

Including hers as well.

This conversation is a part of it.

"Now again, I will have to kindly ask you to return to your cell by today. I've already gone all the way to ask permission for you to use this quarter."

"Only if you promise to treat us better than what YOU did to us yesterday."

"Agreed." He quickly brought the argument to a close. Content, Wilma lied down on the bed, as she placed her arm on her forehead, sighing.

Also satisfied with what he had achieved, a good conversation, Alexander exited the room.

A few hours later, another guard escorted Wilma back to her cell.

"Bishop-san!" Her friends former anxiety and worriness subsided once the sight of her friend came into her.

"I was so worried about you! That damn scum! What did he do to you?!" The twin-tailed witch instantly bombarded Wilma with either questions and curses. In face of that, she only smiled.

"No, he didn't. In fact, he treated my yesterday's condition well."

"So you are well now?"

"Yes I am. Furthermore, he also promised to treat us better than last time."

"Really?" Cecelia made a face that perfectly fits the definition of surprise. "Maybe he isn't the bad guy after all."

"I wonder…But anyway, how about you two? Are you ok?" Wilma asked, with equal concerns

"We're fine. Yesterday that guy dropped us his coat so we used it as a blanket. It kept us warm enough to make it pass the night."

Relieved to her heart, Wilma gave the two of them a big bear hug, only to be returned by another one. The heart-warming sight would continue for another minute, as feelings of contentness after one good news coming after all the bad ones was too overwhelming. But unbeknownst to them, all of that, everything, was caught under the gaze of a certain figure.

Alexander, who was standing quietly in the shadow at the far end of the room, observed, expression unreadable. He watched them for a while, then proceeded to leave, his hands crossed behind his back, without a sound.

Walking up the stairs, he approached Eris, who was not far from there.

 _"Eris, status of the 7_ _th_ _Fleet?"_

 _"Arrived and standing by for instructions. What about it?"_ She replied.

 _"Very good. I have a few...things to do."_

 _"Hmm?"_ She asked curiously.

* * *

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

501st JFW's temporary base of operation.

In contrast, a sense defeat gloomed.

"I'm exhausted! I don't wanna move anymore!" Erica could feel her arms numbed, having spent all the strength and magic she had on firing her guns and dancing through beams and bullets.

"Shosan (Major). Are you alright now?" Perrine asked with great concern to her precious Fusan's samurai.

"I'm fine Perrine. But damn, that kick he gave to me." She rubbed her nape, which was stinging red like hell.

"On that topic." Gertrude interjoined. "The man on that blimp. Who is he?"

"Maybe a traitor within us?" Charlotte voiced out her opinion.

"No, I've read the profile of some important military personals and I cannot find anyone that young and look like what Trude saw." But Minna quickly denied that. "Also, I have looked into the relatively rare numbers of male witches, but with same results."

"So that means he is a Neuroi by birth."

"But he can be any of the lower ranks. I mean, the Neuroi can use whoever they wanted, right?" Yoshika said, with slight naivety.

"True, but to having some normal commoners commanding a Neuroi heavy fleet is unwise in any means." Minna said.

"I believe he is also the man who orchestrated the four attacks that costed us the entire Europe. For something that great, he can't be a low recruit among us." Mio added

"Then we can assume he is a Neuroi by birth. But with a human body?" Charlotte admitted, but then questioned.

"Could be. There are witch types, so why not human types?"

"Also, I heard a human type appeared somewhere before, but maybe it's just a rumor." Eila also joined, as she combed Sanya's hair.

"Let's just assume that." Minna said. "The higher ups are panicking over him now. They are considering budget cutting the witches to make up for the previous loss."

"Again?! We are the only one making results and that is how they treated us?!" Displeasure was written all over Mio's face. She couldn't bear hiding all of that after hearing so.

"Calm down, Mio. That's how warmongers are. If the Neurois hadn't showed up, we would be fighting each other by now."

"Just like the World War…I wonder if we could find someone more far-sighted than these people."

"Now, now Mio. You're over-judging. Not every generals and officers in the high command are like that. A few are relatively competent and respectable."

"Just stop this, won't you?" The Liberion witch chimed in forcefully, in spite of the difference in their ranks. "The most important subject right now is Lynette."

The gloom intensified immediately.

Yoshika and Sanya hung their heads low, while the others look troubled. They obviously didn't know what to do with her.

"She is still in there, refusing to get out. I'm still keeping my eyes on her, for any distress that may happen."

"Now we can just hope for something, or hope that she can overcome this herself."

Silence filled the room, as they silently prayed.

Suddenly…

An ear-splitting siren echoed with such intensity that it sent the girls on their feet immediately.

"Neuroi?!" Mio yelled through the deafening sound, with a slight tinge of nervousness and tiredness. Her magic has only just healed after the last disastrous battle.

"How can this be?!" Followed by Shirley.

"They initiated another attack already? Didn't they just conquer Britannia a few days ago?!" Trude shouted.

"The radar has detected a medium-sized Neuroi entering the east grid, at altitude around 15000 meters. They probably want to completely clear out our presence here." Minna listened to her radio, as she recited the report concisely.

"Just one aircraft? Then we don't need the entire squadron! Hartmann, Barkhorn, Shirley, Lucchini and Perrine, follow me!" Mio called out.

"Hai (Yes (ma'am'))!" They filed out instantly. 5 minutes later, the squadron Mio formed had taken to the sky. Yoshika, Lynette, Minna, Eila and Sanya are on the ground, tending the base.

"Do you think he is behind this attack?" Trude, who was at the head of the squadron, turned back to ask Sakamoto. Her reply was a growling shrug, indicating that there is no way she could know, just hopeful that it isn't.

But it is.

Far away from the base of the strike witches, outside of their detection range, a gigantic flying ship, about 1 kilometer long, 300 meters high and 500 meters wide, size bigger than even the largest Neuroi battlecruiser, but smaller than the Neuroi hive, with the shape of a modern computer mouse cursor, flattened on the top and the bottom, hovered firmly 3000 meters above the water level, in stealth mode, with Neuroi weaponry stationed everywhere on the ship. In simple terms, this is a miniature moving hive, capable of traveling in space, with enough battle stations to keep the entire enemy fleet busy for one entire day.

This is the latest and most deadly dreadnought-type Neuroi, but the most expensive one too. Only a few was built ever since its commission before the Neuroi's conquest on Earth. One of which, known for its godly name Aegis, was sent as a flagship of the Neuroi's 7th Fleet under the command of supreme general Alexander Kherol.

And now it has arrived to Earth, and hovered there, quietly.

On the upper part of the ship, several rooms existed.

 _"Sir, the unit you deployed has moved into position."_ The dreadnought reported, as it kept the location of each and every Neurois it possessed under its surveillance.

 _"Good, show me the hologram."_ Alexander gradually walked to his command chair, and sat down

 _"Yes sir."_ He immediately hologrammed the battlefield. Wearing a satisfied smile, he laid his back on his chair, taking a small sip of the heavy sugary mineral drinks he made.

"Alright witches. Your move." He smirked.

* * *

The rocket-shaped Neuroi has encountered the enemy.

"Enemy sighted! Attack!" Mio ordered, as the entire squadron of witches dived down onto its prey, an all-out attack

The Neuroi, surprised by being suddenly attacked from above, immediately returned fire, only to be bombarded with clips and clips of bullets.

At one point, the right flaperon of the Neuroi bursted white smoke, as the Neuroi itself fell slowly to the sea. A quick and easy victory for the witches. Almost too quickly and easily.

"That was too easy." Perrine also noticed how strange this was.

"This is strange. I couldn't seem to find its core." Mio remarked, her eyepatch lifted.

"Could this be a diversion?!"

A shocking hint.

"In that case, the base is in trouble!" Mio shouted in realization.

That the actual attacking Neuroi took a different route to the base, a rather longer but more stealthy route.

* * *

At Aegis's command room.

 _"The second half of the Neuroi has gotten through."_ Aegis reported, as Alexander furrowed his eyebrows one bit.

 _"How unexpected. I wouldn't have thought that they would fall for it so easily."_ But then relaxed, as it meant that he didn't have to order around much.

 _"Should we speed it up sir?"_ Asked the dreadnought.

 _"No, it would be unnecessary. They won't catch up with it."_

Meanwhile, at the base

"Lynne-chan. It's me, Yoshika." She called out

Silence.

"Lynne-chan, open the door please."

Still silence.

"Lynne-chan, I know this is a great shock to you, to lose Britannia, to lose your family. But it's not yet over, we are still fighting."

Only a few could reach her, as she sat with her knees held tightly near her empty eyes. She didn't need those words of pitiness. She knew she was broken, and powerless. She needn't anyone to tell her that.

"I know…I'm not the one to talk. I haven't lost Fuso yet. But now if I am like you, I will."

That's bad consolidating.

"That is why I always keep my head high, and keep fighting, no matter what. That is why I want to be in the witches in the first place. I want to do what I can to help others, do what is in my capabilities, even if it isn't anything compared to what Barkhorn-san or Sakamoto-san does."

Head high, and helping others.

That is also Lynette's words when she enlisted.

It was years ago, during the good old days, when she was sill the old, cheerful Lynne.

Where did all of that go?

Only she didn't knew it until now.

"And…" Yoshika uttered. "If I can protect everyone…"

Like a match to a candle.

Protect.

A very simple words to say, but difficult to accomplish.

But nevertheless she said it. Just like how she said it years ago.

And now is she neglecting it?

Is she being irresponsible to her own words?

Lynette found herself standing up to her words, opening the door to her, for the first time since like…forever.

But Yoshika wasn't there.

Yet another siren echoed around the base.

"What is it commander?" Eila was rather surprised to be summoned to the briefing room, as she thought the Neuroi was already being taken care of.

"The Neuroi has broken through, for some reasons. The main squadron couldn't catch up with them, so we'll have to go. How is Sanya?" Minna replied.

"She is exhausted after her night patrol, so no good."

"Then you and I are the only one. Get ready."

"I want to come too commander!" Yoshika suddenly ran into the room, pleading, to the surprise of the young Minna.

"You can't, what about Lynne?" Minna said strictly

"She will be fine, I've talked to her."

"How are you so sure? You can't leave her alone back in the base like that."

"But I want to help!"

"We can handle it. You have to stay here to take care of her."

"It's alright commander." A British voice came from behind Yoshika suddenly. The three girls looked with a face full of astonishment, as they saw Lynette out of her room, with a face far different than what she had a few days ago.

"If I go with Yoshika-chan, then she won't need to tend me, right?"

"Lynne-chan…" Yoshika was touched to the heart by how her words touched her

Minna was also as content, as she ordered with a small smile.

"Prepare yourself in 90 seconds, the enemy is approaching."

"Yes ma'am!" They replied in unison

No longer than the time Minna requested did the remaining for witches take to the sky, finally reforming the usual 11 maidens that once dominated the eternal blue.

"There it is!" It didn't take long after they took off to encounter the enemy. It looked like a corncob, with small flaperons at the back. There a few short red trails could be seen, indicating an engine going at full speed.

"Eila, with me! You two, stay back and provide cover fire!" Minna commanded

"Hai!"

The two of them instantly soared, to a certain altitude, before opening fire.

But it didn't hit it.

It was too fast.

"It's too fast, we'll have to match its speed to hope landing a shot at it." Again, Minna ordered the Suomus.

"Hmm!" Eila complied

They did a C turn downwards as the Neuroi got near, catching it perfectly nearby, and rained a hail of bullets on it.

 _"They are on his tail."_ Alexander noted.

 _"Now do you need a speed up, sir?"_ The dreadnought asked again.

 _"Yes, please do."_

The moment Alexander gave the order, the Neuroi suddenly detached itself, dropping half of its body flying at the witches. They dodged it with ease, but by doing so they had given it a chance to accelerate and escaped their hot-pursuit.

 _"There are still two to go."_

 _"Do an arc drift. Avoid getting the trajectory directly straight in their line of fire."_ Alexander ordered, as he placed his drink down and went fully into his concentration mode.

Several kilometers away, the Neuroi started turning left, then suddenly a hard right, turning its hull diagonally from Lynne's Boy guns.

"Lynne! The enemy has broken through! You are our last hope!"

If only Minna hadn't said that

Lynette aimed her guns carefully and…

BOOM!

First shot.

Miss

BOOM!

Second shot.

Miss

BOOM!

Third shot

Same result

"It's too erratic! I can't follow it at all!" She panicked, as cold sweats formed on her two temples

"Lynne-chan! You can do it!"

"I can't!"

"Lynne-chan!" Yoshika suddenly grabbed her shoulder firmly. "The one that took away your homeland is right in front of you! Aim straight at it and fire!"

At the encouragement, Lynette could feel her heartbeat slowed down, but her eyes burning with anger.

After a few seconds, she readied herself again, with renewed determination, as she looked through the iron sight with one of her eyes, her vengeful eye. The eye that has seen her home country fell right in front of her.

'If I can predict the exact position it will turn its frontal hull right at me, I can get it!' She thought. 'Turning radius 10 degrees per second, wind speed 3, velocity…' All of its calculation she made in her head was for this one shot. One shot that will determine the fate of this battle.

Then, as if the instinct in her has broken off, she open fired, 5 consecutive shots, in 5 different directions.

As if using machinery calculation, the 5 bullets struck exactly where she wanted it to be. Three shots to its hull, bouncing it up, one struck directly in its core position, exposing it, and the last lethal one pierced through its most important part, the core, shattering it completely.

The Neuroi, with its core destroyed, was soon reduced to a pile of white particles, tinkling over the blue ocean.

"Lynne-san. You did it. Welcome back." Minna said, genuinely satisfied with her result.

"...Did I really do it?" The tense feeling soon released from her body like a water rushing out of an open floodgate.

"Yes Lynne-chan, you have protected us all."

She failed to protect her homeland, but she had succeeded to protect the most precious thing to her right now, her friends, her base.

And that is more than enough for her to repay her own debts.

"I did it! I did it! Thank you Yoshika-chan!" She instantly slammed her body into Yoshika's, with her arms held tightly to her Fusan friend.

The next moment was totally devoted to laughing and girlish giggling, as they hugged each other in mid-air and…in the water, as they fell into the ocean together, arms in arms.

Elsewhere.

 _"Sir, the deployed Neuroi vessel has been destroyed."_ Aegis reported according to what happened on the hologram.

 _"I can see that, Aegis."_ Alexander replied, in an unusually calm and composed manner.

 _"I think we have scouted them enough, shall I send more to attack?"_

 _"No, that's enough for the day. We have a whole lot of time for another occasion. Now, let's return home."_

 _"Yes sir."_

The huge dreadnought, obeying without a doubt, still in stealth mode, began to lower its altitude while turning its massive hull, before sinking down into the sea. After reaching a certain depth, the ship began to move, silently like a ninja.

The door to the command room suddenly opened, as Alexander's favorite adjutant, came in.

 _"What is it Eris?"_ He asked

 _"You should have known this by now."_ She replied

 _"Oh, so they have arrived?"_

 _"Precisely. They are currently waiting for you at London."_

 _"Seems like I took my time here. But at least I find this whole experience to be very…entertaining."_ He smiled, a very strangely satisfied one.

* * *

 **Don't blame me but I like big characters to go with big stuffs. But because that dreadnought maybe a little bit OP if it is deployed, so you probably won't see it much in battle, but who knows. For now, it largely serves as Alexander's flagship and portable battle station and command center, since the hive is too stationary, so yeah. Since the Neuroi in this fic is a powerful space empire, so there is no reason why they wouldn't build a large dreadnought that can travel in space and fight. Inspired by the Imperial Executor-class super star destroyer in Star Wars**

 **Some references:**

 **This chapter is much based on the strike witches anime series episode 3, but with moderate changes to bring Lynette out of her depressions**

 **Quotes:**

 **"To defeat an enemy you must know them." Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels. My favorite quotes about strategies so far. Alexander's next line is largely based off it.**

 **"Aim straight at it and fire!" A reference to a Vietnamese hero during the Vietnam War who said this to encourage the morales of his AA battalions, who drove off the American aircrafts later that day.**


	6. Chapter 6: New recruit

**Welcome to my sixth chapter of The day Britannia fell.**

 **So to tell you in advance, this chapter will introduce a few new characters into Alexander's legion, all of whom actually made their debut in chapter 4. So if you forget them, you can return there for it.**

 **Among the characters I introduced, there is OC Jynetta (Vera Neckiton) from Gamerman22 and StrikerStanding692. Originated from the series SW War Torn Reboot I and II from StrikerStanding692. Be sure to check it out if you have free time.**

 **So you may ask why do I put another OC in. Simply because I want the story to be a little bit more interesting with characters from another story in this. Of course, I have to take a bit of consideration before putting a character in, especially a Neuroi character, since it may ruin my originally intended storyline. I also tried to make all the original content of the character as ORIGINAL as possible, but there are some factors that have to be changed once it is implemented, for the sake of the story itself. If you have any witches or OC that you would like to see it appear here, you can private message me and we will discuss about it**

 **Thank you Gamerman22 for the permission to let me use this OC, and I promise, your conditions are not overlooked.**

 **Sorry if the encounter with the other two characters are a little bit short, since I wanted to devote a little bit to Jynetta, since she played a bigger role, and it also shows a part of Alexander's cunning personality: a man of words and no taking jokes.**

* * *

Chapter 6: New recruit

Inside Buckingham's Palace

Alexander's office

 _"_ _Where the hell is he?"_ Inside the room, echoed an impatient voice of a human-like Neuroi. Despite being a human-type, he couldn't be the so-called legendary supreme general who conquered three of the largest countries on Earth, judging by his impulsive and rash demeanor. He was instead one of the Neuroi's lower general, Gawain.

 _"_ _Be patient, general. The supreme general has a lot of works to take care of."_ Speaking with respect, overseer Walfried Lzammer advised the young general.

 _"_ _You seem to speak high of him overseer."_ Gawain countered, irritated by him idolizing Alexander.

 _"_ _My apologies, but you cannot deny what I said, can you?"_

 _"_ _What do you know?"_ Gawain said with mild petulance of about to lose an argument.

 _"_ _General…"_ But as he was trying to defend himself, the girl next to him shutted him up completely. _"_ _It's common sense. Of course we don't know, but we can all assume that, since he is the only Neuroi to attain that prestigious rank. It isn't questionable for us to have to wait for him."_

Gawain was silenced, as he knew he couldn't win against two people ganging up on him.

About 15 minutes later, the office door suddenly opened.

Walking in was the main character they were waiting for.

 _"_ _Please excuse my tardiness. I got…a little carried away with my job."_ Alexander said with a soft, smooth voice in slight undertone, as he took off his heavy black coat.

 _"_ _No problem sir, we are honored to be able to work with you from now on."_ Walfried said, as he walked up to him and shook his hand.

 _"_ _Indeed you do. I've heard about you, overseer Lzammer. You are the one who designed and administrated the construction of all the Neuroi's hive here on Earth?"_

 _"_ _Yes sir."_

 _"_ _They are all magnificent pieces of art. I hope you would do the same for the hive in Britannia?"_

 _"_ _Of course sir. I will start immediately"_

 _"_ _Then this meeting of yours ends right now."_ His tone changed slightly.

 _"_ _W-What do you mean?"_ He asked, surprised.

 _"_ _Didn't you say you would start immediately? I don't want to hear words. I want actions. Go and commence construction right away."_

 _"_ _Yes sir!"_ He complied and left the office instantly.

A few seconds were spent in nervous silence. The girl was slightly baffled by how Alexander reacted. By that, she knew he definitely wasn't the typical Neuroi officer and commander that she used to serve under.

Alexander, as he watched the overseer rushing out of his office, walked slowly to his desk, getting past the two human-like Neurois in front of him.

After sitting down, he began talking.

 _"_ _So what is the Emperor's reason for sending both of you down here?"_

 _"_ _Well…I don't really know. I was transferred here through his message. It didn't mention any motives in it."_ Gawain answered.

 _"_ _I see."_ Alexander nodded, looking a little unimpressed. _"_ _Jynetta?"_

 _"_ _He said I might want a little bit of fresh air, after months spending as his personal Guard. But I think there was something more to that…like there was a commotion back at the palace, but I don't know the content."_

Alexander nodded in acknowledgement, this time his gaze smugged.

 _"_ _General Gawain, do you have any questions relating to your post here?"_

 _"_ _Uh…no sir."_ He replied, seemingly unprepared for this.

 _"_ _You may go."_ Alexander dismissed him. Again, his unimpressed look returned.

Gawain left without a word, leaving the young, pretty Neuroi alone with him.

Jynetta could feel her organs trampling on each other as she realized that she was in room, alone, with a man she had heard a lot about, admired, but didn't have many chances to meet him. Now that he is in front of her, in a face-to-face conversation, she honestly couldn't think of what to say to him.

Alexander was the one to break the silence, as he stood up, his arms placed behind his back with curiosity.

 _"_ _Since I met you, I have one thing lingering in my mind that I would remind myself to ask you in private. In which factory was your body manufactured?"_

 _"_ _Eh…I remember it was called by the name Xan, back at the capital. Why do you ask that sir?"_ She replied.

 _"_ _Because you have the same feature as I do. Very, very human-like. As I see it, you are also capable of human communication?"_

"You're right, sir." She switched to the human's way of talking, through the mouth. Alexander continued with it as well

"I was genuinely surprised when I learnt about you, as I thought I was the only one capable of doing so."

"Hehe, thank you sir." She blushed slightly on her pale soft skin.

"As a member of the emperor's personal guard, I figured that you must be a capable combatant, correct?" He asked.

"The Empress's rather, but yes sir. I can deal with 20 enemies at once no problem!" She confidently stated.

"I would like to see that in action." Alexander replied, as she would expect.

"A mock fight between you and me maybe?"

"That would be unfair. I was not designed for direct combat, only to defend myself and survive in a battle. My reflex and agility maybe fast, but my endurance, power and amount of energy stored are significantly worse than you, or any common Neuroi. I will not put up a good fight against you "

"Then how about you command a wing of test drones attacking me and I'll fight them off. I want to see between your brilliant mind and my power, which is better."

"Jynetta." He suddenly lowered his voice, like a teacher lecturing a student who just made an error. "The power of the mind cannot be compared to physical strength in any ways, vice versa. Physical and mental strength are like milk and tea, salt and sugar, light and dark. None is inferior or superior to the other. It is only a true warrior who can understand and master all of that."

"..."

For a moment, there was silence. She wasn't sure how to react to such words. Such soft words but carried an unknowingly powerful force to convey its meaning. It was certainly very very different from how her teacher back there taught her, which was full of textbook knowledge. To be honest, she thought, if he became a teacher instead, many, not to say all, Neuroi schools would pay to get him to give lectures.

"But if you insist on getting a workout, I wouldn't mind. Follow me."

Alexander exited his office and led her to outside the palace, to one small building, decorated with Neuroi patterns, containing two separate rooms, furnished with absolutely nothing, aside from two doors, a transparent wall spliting the room in one small and the other large room, another door to the far left of the large room, and a few lightings.

"This is?" She asked as she looked around.

"My personal training room. Here, in my free time, I would polish my combat skill, just enough to survive on the battlefield. I set the number of training droids to 2, which is my default level, but for you, I will reset it to 20. These are all expert bots so it won't be easy to take them out."

"Twenty?! Are you serious sir?" She asked, with amazement.

"Unless you are not…up to it." His tone turned a little bit cynical. He is serious.

'Oh boy…' Jynetta broke a sweat at this. By she meant 20, it was just an attempt at being cheery and a little bit boastful. But Alexander obviously wasn't the type into, or affected by, self-flattery. He needed to see it for his own eyes. All he wanted was proofs that go with words.

But still, it would be a great opportunity to practice. She wouldn't be having this kind of stuff back at the palace. Let's see if she still possessed the power that she left it to rot in the Emperor's Palace all these months.

"I'll give it a try." Jynetta said, as she took a step into the room.

Alexander simply nodded, and closed the door.

As she watch the supreme general walking to behind the glass window for observation, a message appeared in her core control system.

Training simulator V2

Self-defense training

Number of droids: 20.

Confirm?

Yes. No.

Jynetta 'clicked' the 'Yes' button with her inner cursor.

Immediately, the Neuroi particles soon filled the arena like snow, before grouping up in 20 different positions, forming into 20 clones of witch-type Neurois.

"Are these real?" She asked.

"No, they are clones. Neurois without cores, controlled purely through one artificial intelligence. If you are hesitating on the thought of killing, then this should clear your mind of that." Alexander replied.

She looked back at them, at her faceless enemies, and took a defensive stance.

The 20 clones stood orderly, in a box consisted of 5 rows and 4 columns. Suddenly, the first row of clones raised their arms simultaneously, firing Neuroi beams at Jynetta.

Despite being a little bit surprised at first, Jynetta saw the beams coming and did a backward somersault, avoiding all of it.

Landing on her two feets, she dashed forward, her hand materializing a long glowing red sword, which she called it Retarynax. Aiming for the clone on the far left of the column, she impaled it through the stomach with the sword. The clones couldn't possibly react to such speed, only giving a screech. The others took another few seconds to realize what happened to their comrade. They opened fire again, only for it to be blocked by their own comrade's body, which Jynetta swung it to her front as a human-shield, or in this case Neuroi-shield.

The poor clone's durability reached 0 and disappeared in a shimmer of light. Not letting the other clones having the initiative, Jynetta rushed for the other 4 clones of the front row, slicing it to pieces with ease.

The young Alexander, who was watching the whole thing from the start, was quite astonished to say the least. His face looked with impress, with a half-smile and a crossing arm.

But as she was about to rush for the second row, the clones suddenly moved a few meters back, spreading out while one clone rushed for her with an arm raised. Jynetta saw the punch, and raised her arm to deflect it. But she didn't see the beams coming, as they were all shot from the spreaded out clones. The clone that rushed for a melee, all of a sudden, released from her grip and jumped sideways to clear the way for the oncoming beams.

Jynetta quickly covered herself with her arms, which was crossed on each other, forming the letter 'X'.

 _Don't underestimate these clones. They know what is teamwork, and they can use it as effective as we do._ Alexander remarked devilishly to her in his mind.

"That is it!" Infuriated, her fist clenched as her eyes suddenly glowed with great intensity. For ten seconds, she continued to remain in her defensive stance, as beams continued to be flung at her. But then suddenly…

 _Ohhh._

Just a second ago, she was just a normal girl standing at 163 cm, even shorter due to her crouched position. Now, her figure stood towered with intimidation over 3 meters high, using her 8 tentacles that somehow grew from her small back.

Shocked by the sudden development, the clones were trying to soak this new data into the processor when she dived down on them, her sword raised, aiming for the clone in the middle.

That clone was killed instantly.

Standing up, she proceeded to spin around, swinging her 8 tentacles smashing onto the unsuspecting clones, sending each and everyone of them on the ground.

Alexander placed his hand on his chin, observing her beautiful and precise techniques and statures with enthusiasm.

The battle had lasted for ten minutes, with 14 of the original clones destroyed. But with every single clones destroyed, the remaining ones got stronger and harder to kill.

"I should finish this now…" She muttered as she cut another clone in two.

The 5 clones fired again, this time with much more power than it was at the beginning. Jynetta stepped sideway, dodging the beams, then released 'kraken's' tentacles on them, toppling them again. Taking the few seconds she bought for herself, she retracted her tentacles and raised her red sword straight at them.

A white circle a radius of 5 meters formed around her red glowing blade, illuminating the entire room, sending her long brown hair fluttering behind her.

 _Such power._

The only spectator of the simulation looked in awe as her body didn't even flinch from the enormity of the energy focused in front of her.

Her eyes radiated focus so intense that one could not believe what they saw in front of them.

"DESECRATION WAVE!"

A long, loud cry was to follow, and the circle turned into a large beam, zooming with speed faster than the speed of sound, engulfing the remaining 5 clones in white, as they vaporized into thin air in mere seconds.

The beam didn't stop there, as it crashed onto the walls of the far end of the room. It also didn't stop there, as the beam broke through it, to the outside, continuing for another 200 meters before dissipating. The destruction was so immense that Alexander had to grab hold of something to keep himself balanced.

 _Dear God…_

"That's enough!" He shouted to her, calling her to stop.

It is then that she fully registered what she just did.

"Oh no! I'm so so sorry for what I've done!" She quickly apologized, looking at him, as her hands clapped onto each other guiltily.

"That's fine. It can be fixed without any effort. What I feared earlier was if you couldn't stop." Alexander said as he re-entered the room.

"So how was that?" She asked expectedly.

"Fascinating." He replied, bluntly. And he wasn't flattering, at all.

She blushed slightly at the blunt but honest praise from him.

"I'll give you an offer. You can choose to do normal work in my 7th Fleet, or you can work as my personal Guard."

"Can I do both?"

"That would be alright, the problem is that if you can actually take it."

"I can, I definitely can!" She said.

Alexander was genuinely impressed by her enthusiasm, as he gave her a pat on her head, following by a smugly smile, causing her to blush even more.

 _"_ _Are you two done?"_ Came a Neuroi transmission from the direction of the hole on the broken wall. It was Eris, who witnessed the sudden explosion and came rushing down to check things out. And she didn't sound pleasant.

 _"_ _Yes, Eris. I and Jynetta was just having a simulation."_ Alexander replied as Jynetta turned to her.

 _"_ _And you blew up a wall for that?"_

 _"_ _We…did go a little bit overboard."_

 _"_ _Great, now we have to spend another great deal of particles for the repairs. Honestly, you should consider refraining from practicing. It is costing us a fortune."_

 _"_ _Eris."_ Alexander spoke to her, again with the previous tone he used to lecture Jynetta. _"_ _Practice makes perfect. A master will always prepare for everything, while mastering their strongest."_

 _"_ _Hai, hai."_ Eris answered her in a way different from how Jynetta responded, unimpressed and simply didn't care. _"_ _I haven't questioned you, Alex, for using my figure as your training droids without asking for permission."_

 _"_ _Well, you didn't say no. Besides you don't look that different from ordinary witch-type."_

 _"_ _That's copyright violation."_ She turned away in petulance. Seeing this little childish act, Alexander simply gave a pat on her shoulder, and said.

 _"_ _Let's go."_

He knew she wouldn't be angry of him by that. He had worked with her, and understood longer than anyone else.

'Alex?' As the trio left for his office, Jynetta reminisces the words coming from his personal adjutant, Eris. Was she that close to him that she could call him that?

'Wait, what am I thinking?!' But the thought was dismissed immediately, as she shook her head violently.

* * *

 _"_ _Are there anything new, or strange happening?"_ Alexander asked as the trio finally arrived back at his office.

 _"_ _Nothing really, aside from one thing, but I don't really think it is that important."_ Eris answered

 _"_ _Oh I cannot agree with you yet. Tell me, what is it?"_

 _"_ _Well…it is simply a sudden appearance of a large naval fleet at the South West of the Atlantic. They looked to be heading south, to the African region, but there are a lot of Neurois there, so I just think they are doing skirmishes or something similar."_

 _"_ _That does not seem like skirmishes to me. What is their current location?"_

 _"_ _They are on their way back to Baltimore, a naval port in Liberion."_

 _"_ _Hmm."_ Alexander nodded his head, slowly, as his annalytical mind started to function.

 _Those ships cannot be just Britannian's. Can be a joint-fleet from other nations. And he wouldn't go that far to expose his plans for the entire naval fleet to execute._

 _"_ _Eris."_ He said.

 _"_ _Yes?"_

 _"_ _Do you remember the contents of all the letters we found?"_

 _"_ _How can I, there are lots of them."_

 _"_ _The overall content, I mean."_

 _"_ _Is it the private correspondences of some Britannian general called Maloney?"_ Jynetta asked, trying to join in the conversation.

 _"_ _Indeed."_ Eris replied. _"_ _They are planning to steal our assets for some kind of mecha they made. And I heard they are doing it secretly using the budget of his witch squadrons."_

 _"_ _It is that, and more. According to this law of these Earthlings, every budget has its purpose, and using it for the wrong one will face severe punishment. So he cannot reveal this plan to the public unless it provides good results, and more importantly he would not be able to infiltrate our hives with only his small team he assembled in secret."_ Alexander explained, smoothly. _"_ _That would lead to a suggestion that he will be trying to convince the high-ranking officers to commence an attack on our hives, draw us out, and on the while send a small group to infiltrate and steal our technology."_

 _"_ _Then we should issue an alert at the Gallian hive."_ Jynetta suggested. _"_ _They will not get through our strong security."_

 _"_ _Nah."_ His tone dropped, in denial. _"_ _It may not be the Gallian. It could be any hive. And besides, like I said back at Berlin, this stealing of theirs will also be very beneficial to us."_

 _"_ _...I'm not sure I could follow you."_ Eris said, in great confusion to his statement.

 _"_ _Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake."_ Alexander said, as his tone changed again to a more megalomaniac one. _"_ _Those humans think they know us well, they believe they are so smart they can manipulate and use our own technology against us. We will prove them wrong."_

The two of his aids looked at each other, then at his glowing intellectual crimson eyes, trying to guess what he was trying to do. But it was futile. There was no way to tell what he had in mind.

For Jynetta, it was a bit weird, foreign since it was the first time she worked with him, but for Eris, her tension and confusion was somewhat relaxed and eased. There was already someone who knew what he was doing, and led the way for her.

* * *

 **Quote references:**

 **"Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake." Napoleon Bonaparte.**


	7. Chapter 7: Bloody kindness

**Welcome to the 7th chapter of The day Britannia fell. I am sorry if it is a bit long for some, but I have a bit of work to do since it was near the end of the school year. But rest assured that once it is summer, I would have enough time for writing.**

 **Enjoy the chapter, and stay tuned for my next one.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own SW's character, nor the OC Jynetta.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Bloody kindness

In an unknown location.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes sir, everything is set."

"Hmmm. Now only one more asset, and this once-in-a-lifetime project will be completed. Britannia will be regained, and the world initiative will be ours!"

Came a conversation, between two, middle-aged and young man, whispering in the shadows like ancient fossils, cowering under layers of dirt in fear of being consumed. A conversation was held in complete secret, inside a building covered with dirt, mosses and rots, usually thought to be abandoned and desolated. A conversation was held in caution of being overheard, eavesdropped.

"But the hard part is that we will have to infiltrate the hive. The key factor is the core itself, not the body." The younger voice said.

"It's not a problem!" The middle-aged man exclaimed, with such great confidence that he almost yelled. "Their Gallian hive is in a position very advantageous for our sneaking. We will take advantage of operation Crescent, which will divert their attention from the hive. The Warlock will be controlled by hand, and will enter in a different direction."

"But air chief marshal, aren't the Neurois currently under control by a human? Rumors said that it was he who conquered entire Europe by himself, in just a year. He may be able to intercept us."

"He will not know. The things that can potentially expose our plans were certainly, if not definitely, destroyed along with London. The Neurois knew nothing but destruction, even some of our most popular landmarks were even destroyed, not to mention a small institution like ours."

"But what if they didn't destroy the city. With all due respect, I think you are underestimating their strength, sir."

"Their real strength comes from their advanced technology, not from some rustic traitor. If we can make that strength our own, there is nothing that can stand in our way, even them. Only a Neuroi can beat a Neuroi."

"Maloney is right. We cannot allow any to interfere. We will execute the operation accordingly as planned." Another officer interjoined, ending the conversation.

The man called Maloney grinned at his subordinate's support, a grin that nobody wanted to see.

* * *

501st's temporary base of operation.

"Dinner is ready!"

Came the cheerful voice of Lynette, who had finished her last touch on her dish, the Britannian cones.

The rest of the squadron came down almost immediately, with many wearing face as bright as the blue sky. They didn't get to enjoy this kind of atmosphere for a while, so they were ready to enjoy it to the fullest.

"Hmmmm!" Upon tasting the Britannian's cuisine, Charlotte's only reaction was to moan in approval. "Delicious! How did you make this?!"

"Hehehe…" She scratched her head in embarrassment. "Arigato Shirley-san!"

They all smiled at her, not only for the tasty lunch, but also for the return of her usual cheery self.

"So glad you're back. At one point I wasn't sure if you are gonna make it or not." Minna said.

"Yeah, I felt pretty much the same, aimless and despair after losing my homeland…But then I realized, that despite so, there are still people out there that are the under constant Neuroi's threat of invasion. And I know that I have to take care of them…All thanks to Yoshika-chan. Arigato!" Lynette replied

"No, no, no! Don't count it too much! I don't really…" She blushed heavily, as she waved her hands wildly.

"I hope you'll keep up that spirit, since we will soon be having a joint operation with the 31st Squadron and the rest of the fleet's remnant." Minna said

"31st?! Wait, wait, is that…" Gertrude asked, in surprise

"Hanna's division. Yes. We'll need her experience and expertise from the Afrika Korp to this mission. Since we can't underestimate the Neurois now."

Gertrude's eyes began to hollow annoyance and anger. She clearly didn't get along with her.

"We won't be doing it today though, Sanya and Eila will scout ahead on our own, work out the approximate number of enemies so that we can come up with a tactic with our meager number of ships left."

"So where is the Fusan naval fleet they said they would reinforce us?" Charlotte asked, while turning her eyes to Sakamoto, who gave a sigh.

"Their departure has been delayed, due to the presence of a Neuroi bombing fleet at the coast of Taiwan. They have already departed, but are 3 days late."

"So we're on our own. How many do we have for a battle?"

"Actually there is still quite a number, since the remnants of the Britannian Royal Navy are still many."

"Now, let's do this quickly. Follow me to the briefing room, I'll cover this more thoroughly." Minna said, standing up, gesturing the others to do so.

They complied immediately, and filed out. Now they know the who they are going against

* * *

Buckingham

London

Alexander was sitting on the command chair at the center of the large room, his legs crossed, his two hands placed on top of each other in front of his chest, his surroundings filled with holograms of blueprints and pictures of human warships and vehicles. On his desk were a self-made sugar drink and two books, the one on top was labeled 'Meditations'.

He scanned each holograms carefully, his red eyes flickered slightly at the dim light of the holos, going through all the details of every armament and its position. He also looked at important details such as ships' citadels, tanks' ammunition racks and many more. Nothing was untouched. Nothing was overlooked. They were all recorded and noted in his powerful core.

His hyper-concentration was only broken by the entrance of his two aids, Eris and Jynetta. But even so, it didn't break him off of his posture. His gaze still hadn't took off from the pictures, not until the two young assistants broke the silence.

 _"The decoy at Taiwan has brought back results."_ Eris said. _"A Fusan's fleet has been blocked off its coast for 3 days. It appears that something big is really up."_

 _"There is no Neuroi territory at the Pacific,"_ Alexander replied. _"And a part of their fleet has been knocked out of actions in the previous battle. There's no reason not to focus their spearhead over the Atlantic theatre."_

 _"Recently, our Neuroi's colonization of the West African countries has loosened due to a few technical reasons. Our number of Neurois in the Suez also decreased to strengthen the Orussian occupation. The region is now pretty weak compared to others."_

 _"Ah. They are likely to attack and retake the area for a base of operation. Alright, we'll play their game."_ He said, calculatively, as he switched the main hologram to the map of the Atlantic _"Their route will be unpredictable, but according to previous battles, the humans have the tendency to be impatient, and may choose the shortest path to attack their target. However, there may be changes. They may also try to surprise us using an unlikely path."_

 _"But their target was still the Western Coast of Africa, right?"_ Jynetta said. _"So if we just remain alert there, we can still fend it off."_

 _"That's a great idea. But this is a game, and I don't play safe. We'll present them with the unexpected, and watch how they react."_

 _"I thought this is a large military operation."_ Jynetta commented, but Eris resassured her.

 _"I know your feeling, you don't know what he is doing. But rest assured, general Alexander sees a much larger picture than a victory of a single operation."_

'Hopefully so.' Jynetta thought.

 _"We'll confront their fleet with an ambush, hiding deep below the surface of the ocean, away from their detection range, in an orderly crescent formation, as shown here."_ Said Alexander

 _"Then what?"_ Eris said

 _"We'll wait, and watch, like the eyes of an eagle looking down on its prey."_

 _"What do you propose we do if they manage to counter it and break through."_

 _"They will surely break through, by the size of that strike fleet. Then I will have them my reward."_

Jynetta's face was a true definition of being dumbfounded. Eris was right, there are battles that you could not win, and trying to understand him is one of them.

* * *

After the briefing, Jynetta left the room, leaving Eris alone with Alexander.

He, without paying attention to her, laid the his back on the chair behind him, and began reading a book he had, in which the assistant coudn't help but be curious

 _"What are you reading?"_ She asked.

 _"A book about philosophy. I would spoil it if I say it any further."_ He replied.

 _"Hmmm…"_ She nodded, as she took a glance at the other books he had stacked on his desk. She could only see the top one, called 'The Art of War'. The title is already self-explanatory, which she gave a chuckle.

That is how he usually spend his leisurely time. He isn't the type to be wasting it on something worthless. Reading and training would be a great replacement, as he said it would also mean studying and preparing for everything that is to come. But on the other hand, it would make him a bit withdrawn and unsociable.

She didn't want to disturb him, but going out a little wouldn't be a bad thing.

 _"Alex?"_ She called out to him, using his informal name.

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Are you free right now?"_

 _"What do you think?"_ Again, his usual mischievous manner. Eris's 'smile' disappeared, sighing in return instead, dead panned.

 _"You look free to me."_

 _"I am, but I am not for those who wanted to invite me out just for a drink."_

Her mood plummeted

 _"I know you are engulfed in reading your favorite book, but you should change the air around a little bit. Just reading and physical training with your droids, don't you think it is bad for your sociability."_

 _"But you know perfectly well that I can't drink like normal Neurois, and I can't drink as much as 10 gallons like you."_

 _"Do you want to go outside with me or not?"_ She decided to be frank this time, looking straight at his glowing eyes.

"..."

 _"..."_

"..."

 _"..."_

 _"Alright, you won."_

 _Her scary side. Quite interesting._ He thought. He could have turned her down any moment, but he wouldn't be so cold to deny an honest invitation.

 _"But I am not going to the recovery station for a drink."_

 _"Then where do you want to go? Your choice?"_ Eris asked, with a sly expectation that it would be something a bit of his age.

 _"How about going to landmarks like the Big Ben. I want to have a look at the human architecture."_

It was utterly crushed, but she wasn't in a position to be surprised, judging by his artistic critic nature that she had to endure every single day she had to serve him. And now she would have to deal with some of his…traits

 _"Fine."_

Finally, after she had accepted, Alexander finally stood up from his chair.

 _"Wait for a few minutes, I'll call Jynetta."_

 _"N-No…"_ She interrupted her, her words stuttered, either due to her core transmission, or that she was a bit embarrassed herself. _"H-How about the two of us only?"_

 _"Why? The more, the merrier right?"_

 _"No, it's just that…I think she had works to do."_

 _Or it's just that you wanted to._ The eyes of the young supreme general pierced through everything in her mind, his lips curved upwards for a hearty smile.

 _"Then as you wish. Then we shall head to our first destination: Big Ben"_ He said

 _"Isn't that the famous clock tower over this city?"_ Eris then gave an honest answer.

 _"Exactly, I didn't know you have an interest in this subject. Then let me tell you a bit of its history while we get there. The Big Ben, built in…"_

'Oh no! I just stepped on a landmine!' She soon realized her mistake. But it was too late

* * *

An hour later, a blessing finally came to her thanks to her well-trained resistance to boredom. They had finally arrived at their destination.

But it did not come without a price. Her Neuroi arm was hanging loosely in front of her bent back, like it was broken. Even after all these years, she couldn't exactly get used to it. It was glad that it was her that had to put up with this, not anyone else.

 _"And so that concludes a bit about what I wanted to show you. The rest is better seen than told."_

'A bit?!' Eris wondered if she could take the rest of his lecture. Even if she does, she wouldn't want to know

 _"Why do you want to come to this place anyway? You seem to know almost EVERYTHING about it."_

 _"You cannot look at art through plain knowledge. Open your eyes, look, see, and feel it. Even that cannot estimate enough the value of a great masterpiece."_

 _"Yes, yes."_ She transmitted groggily, wanting to shut her core down immediately and completely.

 _"But it seems to be a little bit too quiet for a landmark, don't you think?"_

There is almost no one there, only a few scarab-like Neurois. You could blame the evening sky for this, but that isn't much of a reason. Most of the houses nearby were also dark

 _"The citizens are so terrified that they don't want to leave their house."_ Eris explained. _"Quite to be expected, really."_

 _"I know those fake propagandas that the humans spreaded out would have its effect, but I didn't expect it to be this much."_

 _"It's almost the same everywhere, they pretty much condemn themselves in their own accommodations. A sad sight, really, since our policy isn't really that tyrannical or like 'plundering is our motto'."_

 _"By the sound of that, you haven't seen everything. There are Neurois out there secretly committing genocides and unnecessary killings for their own enjoyment. This army is not perfect."_

 _"Seems like a mad world. I wouldn't want to delve much into it."_

 _"I won't force you, but you would have to confront with it as you progress on. Nothing remains unchanged."_

She jerked her head slightly, nodding, in deep thought, while Alexander exhaled heavily.

 _"So would you like to have a visit of Big Ben with me or not?"_

Eris's response was an immediate no. She had had enough of his ramblings about arts.

 _"Then we part ways temporarily here. The night won't be long, so one hour is ok?"_

 _"That would be fine."_ One hour of freedom for her.

She left for some air of her own, leaving the supreme general on a self-tour of the huge clock tower.

As he walked up the tower, his eyes peered around the tower, feeling the history of nearly a century on his leather-gloved hand. He felt his footstep echoeing in the distance with every steps he took on the limestone cladded stairs. A truly interesting technique indeed, by applying materials on top of one another, the humans are able to make the finishing results tolerant to outside conditions, while maintaining its aesthetic look, something the Neurois are yet to have learnt. And the cast iron frames to keep the tower stable. He had never seen such flexible combinations of material anywhere besides Earth. Also the clock mechanic…This is such a masterpiece of art that had to be seen once in a lifetime.

The one hour of visiting was truly a one hour of heaven for the young Alexander. As he stepped out of the Big Ben, he began to repent himself for making the visiting time with Eris too short. There was still a lot more to see and to feel.

Suddenly, Alexander heard a voice somewhere around the corner, and a few screeches, a very familiar form of communication that he knew: Neurois. He could see clearly in his eyes two sentry-type Neurois, each around 180 cm high, looking like a bug with four legs, two at the front, two at the back, crawling down the street slowly.

Normally, he would just ignore them, but this time, after several reports of Neuroi lootings and unnecessary killings, he couldn't help but be vigilant. Alexander immediately concealed himself behind a fence near the Big Ben, and carefully listened, analysing the screech he heard in his core.

 _"Alright we have those stuffs packed! Let's go for another run shall we?!"_ The clear voice played in Alexander's mind.

 _"Are you sure about this? The heat of the previous loot that Ilias's group committed in Gallia is still around. The higher ups are keeping close watches on us."_

 _"No worries. There is no one here to witness. And if we can clean everything of our existence, there is nothing to be worried about. There is a calm, quiet house down in Spilman Street, owned by an elderly couple, we can loot them easily there. They will not say a single word about this."_

That sparked a switch in Alexander. His red eyes radiated with a flash of light as he continued to watch his two bandits soldiers make a beeline down the street. Once they were out of sight, the supreme general left his hiding spot. At that moment, Eris came from the other side of the street.

 _"Sorry if I kept you waiting."_ She said, with a fade hint of petulance as the one hour was a bit short.

 _"Eris."_ He addressed in a manner totally different from the tone he used when talking to her earlier. _"Do you have the map of the city here?"_

 _"Yes, but why do you ask?"_

 _"Perhaps you have read the report about the looting in Paris a few weeks ago?"_

 _"Yes, a group of small-sized Neurois attacked a large number of houses containing refugees while class is taking place, taking everything they have. It is such a bugging report, why wouldn't I not read it?"_ She said, with mild anger.

Alexander then proceeded calmly, but with a cold voice.

 _"Indeed it is. This sparks a very negative belief concerning the morality of not only our military, but also our empire itself: from bad to worse. And it will get even more if you don't show me the map right now."_

Eris's tone changed instantly. She knew what he was talking about.

 _"You have found the culprit behind this?!"_

 _"Not only that, but another looting is going to take place soon, by a different group."_

 _"Another?! Then all personals in this army must be interrogated! This is a disgrace to us all!"_

 _"Patience. This issue can be solved quickly if we know perpetrator. What matters now is the immenent attack. Spilman Street, look it up in your map."_

She did so immediately, knowing how serious this issue is, and Alexander's expressions.

 _"It's just around the corner. You head down this direction and then stop at the second intersection. The street going perpendicular to it is Spilman Street."_

 _"Excellent work. Now, call for Jynetta and general Gawain, I have some orders for them. Meet me at Spilman Street."_

 _"What about you?"_

 _"I will handle this, personally."_

With that said, he darted down the street, in the direction Eris told him, stopping at the crossing point of Spilman St.

* * *

Now that they have not revealed their exact location, Alexander would have to rely on hearings and situational awareness. Thankfully, this road is not a long one, so he can catch everything big going on in his processive core.

He heard a scream coming from his right, 7 blocks away. It only took a minute to arrive there.

On site, it was a small mansion that anyone would have hoped to be living in. But the front entrance was completely destroyed, and two bodies of an old couple were seen in a pool of blood. Inside, a young female, seemingly 11 years old, was cowering in front of the two Neurois, her eyes formed a myriad of emotions: dread, sorrow, fear and despair.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, but the sentry-type Neuroi was relentless. He picked her up with one of his leg, while screeching loudly, preparing to plunge his other leg onto her.

 _"Hey, that's going a bit too far! We aren't murderers!"_ But was stopped in time by his companion, who was behind him, watching him do the work.

 _"And what do you think she would do if we let her live? She has seen us, and she will report this to those top-brass the moment they decide to come down here!"_ He retaliated, not letting go of the girl.

 _"Even if she wants to, she can't, because she can't speak Neuroi, and we don't understand them. So just let her go, do our work and get out of here fast!"_

 _"You stupid motherfucker! Don't you know our supreme general?! He can understand them! Also that whore Jynetta, she is also capable of listening to those humans! That much is enough threat to us if we let any witnesses live to see us!"_

Having witnessed the absolute degradation of morality in those two, Alexander walked in, his professionalism took place.

 _"That much is enough, you two."_ He said, sending the core's temperature of the two Neurois dropping to cold ice.

They both turned their heads around simultaneously and saw, to their horrors, the face of the man who they never wanted to meet in this situation.

 _"What she saw up until is totally unneeded, as I am now the most important witness over here."_ He rarely ever spoke to these soldiers personally but when he did, it was excruciatingly calm, in contrast to commonly expected reactions.

 _"S-S-S-Sir, w-we can explain this!"_ The Neuroi that wasn't holding the girl stuttered immensely, his transmission is clearly interrupted by the cold busting moment.

 _"I don't think there is any better explanation than the fact that your morality and dignity as soldiers under my command are nothing but rotten."_ Alexander immediately shut him down as he stepped closer to his two subordinates, his arms crossed behind him, his eyes narrowed.

 _"Now, let her down, immediately."_

The first Neuroi did so, but not exactly letting her down, more like dropping her down, which even added more fuel to the flames in Alexander.

 _"We just wanted a bit of supplies. And those human's are useful in times like this, so…"_ The first one tried making excuses regardless, but unfortunately he did not knew Alexander's no joking motto.

 _"And so you killed two innocent civilians, TWO elderly civilians. If you want supplies so badly you could have just written a formal request to me and I will reply in less than 3 days. But here is that either you are too impatient for that or you just want to fulfil your desire for bloodlust and killings that you would dare to go and kill the innocents, then you should have never be recruited in the Earth's expeditionary forces…no, in the Neuroi's army itself."_

 _"It's none of your concern, sir."_ He retaliated, emphasizing the word 'sir' as a mock. _"If you want to demote me, devolve me, I don't fucking care! I suggest you get back to your office, devise your stupid tactics and mind your own business!"_

 _"No…"_ Alexander replied, his voice changed into a slightly cool and modulated one, a seemingly relaxed attitude. But the second Neuroi knew he wasn't relaxing at all, as seen in his deep red eyes. Then, he pointed his index finger straight at the first Neuroi.

 _"For disobeying orders, lack of respect for your superiors and total disregarding of the lives of living creatures, your punishment shall not be demotion, devolution or discharge…"_ His tone shifted again, harsh and cold as the Antarctic. _"but DEATH itself."_

 _"So you're gonna execute us?! Ohhh, let's see if you can do it or not!"_ The first Neuroi had had it enough, as he suddenly charged at the supreme general.

Alexander knew he wouldn't be standing if he tried to block his full attacking move, but he knew he was faster than him, so he quickly dodged to the right, and fired a laser beam with his left hand onto one of his right leg, sending him toppling to the ground, exposing his vulnerable bottom.

Then, with his right hand, Alexander charged another beam, plunging it through the exposed bottom, through the core inside it. The bandit soldier, with its most important life source, the core, destroyed, broke into thousands of white particles.

The remaining soldier was shocked beyond his ability to respond. His four legs, despite being a Neuroi, were shaking like a scared, miserable human at the brutal and ruthless display of his supreme leader. What made matters worse was the dead and murderous aura coming from Alexander. His crimson red eyes were glowing terrifyingly, and so did his hand, preparing to finish his soldier off.

Before he could even react, Alexander threw forward another beam, but it was targetted at his front armor, ricocheting vertically as it made contact. The force of the hit wasn't as strong as what he usually encounter in battle, but it was enough warning to show that the supreme general was seriously trying to kill him.

 _"P-P-Please! Don't kill me sir! I've learned my mistake! I was wrong!"_ He pleaded for his life, as his front legs crouched down in terror. _"I will leave the army! And then…"_

Alexander stopped his assault, watching his impulsive subordinate with slight amusement but a bit annoyed at all the racket he was making.

 _"If you are seriously repenting on you behavior…"_ Alexander said. _"then head down to where my assistants are, hand yourself in. We'll talk about this later. Now get out of my sight."_ His reprimand and orders were ruthless and menacing, and at the same time, calm and smooth, so much that the soldier complied almost instantly.

 _Jesus…_ He sighed heavily as the current issue had been resolved. Now that he knows the perpetrator behind the attack in Paris, he will have to arrange an interrogation session with these people, along with that guy who was on the brink of having a meltdown. Such an aggravating job.

As he was about to walk away, he noticed the young girl that he just saved from the scyther of death earlier. After witnessing the fight, all the screeches, and more terribly, the death of her relatives, it would be a surprise if she wasn't crying. Her sobs and cries for her apparent dead grandparents echoed into the cold misty night, catching his attention.

He stood there, looking at her for a few minutes, trying to decide on what to do. Of course, he didn't want to leave her here, but he couldn't bring her with him. She couldn't just live with those who just killed her family. But then, who will be taking care of her. Or rather, who would be willing to take care of her. For the Britannians, in this ugly circumstances, not many.

 _Who am I kidding?_ He quoted. Another troublesome task to do.

Alexander slowly walked up to her, without much thought placed into it. He was approaching her as if he was programmed to do so. The girl looked at him, in terror, and hid her face behind her legs. He picked her up with his two hands, his Neuroi strength allowed him to do it with ease, and exited the mansion, heading back to where his assistants are.

There are things that should be prioritized

Worries could be left for later.

* * *

 **You have probably seen the contrasting part in the title: bloody and kindness. Well that shows how Alexander is, really. He isn't the typical guy you see.**

 **Further in the story, you will see more to that contrast, and what it will lead to, so stay tuned to that.**

 **Also, you may notice that the Neurois act a little bit human like in this chapter, such as using human supplies. I sometimes do got mixed up the two Neurois as humans, so please forgive me that.**

 **Review the story if you like, dislike or want to make this a better story. Constructive reviews are highly appreciated**

 **Oh, and if anyone of you willing to draw an art of Alexander, then I would be loving you forever. I love art, and art about my own character would kill me. But that is pretty much your own choices. I won't force you. PM me if you have an interest.**


	8. Chapter 8: The son of Athena

**Welcome to chapter 8. This is quite a long chapter, really. 7000 words long. Well because it's a battle, so of course it is expected to be long.**

 **First of all, thank you gvintheodore for the OC Vin. He is currently a cameo in this chapter (his name is not yet revealed), but later on, I'll try to highlight his role a bit more. And I am also grateful for all your support of the story so far. It has given me lots of motivation to continue this story.**

 ***To pt1oef about your XCOM review: No. Sadly I don't know that until the moment you ask. But thank you for the positive comments about the story**

 **More notes will be given at the end, since I don't want to spoil it for you.**

 **Enjoy**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own SW nor the OC I borrowed.**

* * *

Chapter 8: The son of Athena

 _"General!"_ Jynetta called out to Alexander, as his silhouette came into view.

 _"What happened? Who is this kid?"_ Gawain said with curiosity, as he was not recapped of the whole story, since he was sleeping by the time this happened.

 _"There are bandits among us. This guy over there is one of them."_ Alexander replied. _"He and his friend attacked a mansion just a few minutes ago, killing two elderly couple. This is the child that was about to become the third victim."_

Jynetta and Eris turned back to look at the bandit soldier in disgust, while general Gawain was silenced, as if he was trying to remember something.

 _"Gawain, you do remember the attack on Paris a few weeks ago, right?"_ Asked Alexander.

 _"I do…"_

 _"Do you know anyone under your command called Ilias."_

He winced his eyebrows at the statement, as if a candle had been lit inside his mind.

 _"Yes, he is the captain of the 101_ _st_ _Neuroi saboteur in the 7_ _th_ _Fleet."_

 _"So he is one of my underlings…A man of such ranks dares to go all the way against my teaching."_ His voice was a mixture of disappointment and anger, yet calm. _"Very well, I shall personally see to this myself. Call for him to report at my office this very moment."_

 _"Yes sir!"_ Gawain immediately complied, shutting himself down to transmit the long range message.

 _"You said there is another one committing this attack. Where is he?"_ Jynetta asked as she looked around.

 _"He's dead."_ The statement suddenly struck her, shocking her for a moment.

 _"Dead? Isn't that a bit…"_ Eris's reaction was also as surprised as his bodyguard.

 _"Harsh? I don't think so. If he had stepped down and take his responsibility, it would have been a different story for him. But here, he showed a total disregard of manners and lives, a sign of moral degradation beyond the point of rehabilitation. He is better off dead instead."_

Yet, it still left a shocking feeling in the two young ladies in front of him. But before one of them could say anything, Alexander handed Jynetta the young child.

 _"Find an orphanage or something for her."_

 _"Me?"_

 _"Yes, you. I can't go, because I have work to do. And besides, you look more human, and more like a parent than me, so you'll have no problems getting in there."_

Jynetta blushed at the word 'parent', as she took the child with her head hung low.

At the same time, Gawain suddenly return to his normal state, and said.

 _"I've called him, he will be there in a minute."_

 _"Let's hear what he have to say, shall we?"_

They left immediately, except for Jynetta, who instead looked for the orphanage Alexander was asking for.

* * *

Inside the plain Britannian office stood a figure, a scarab-like Neuroi. Of course, being the captain of a unit meant that he had to be used to being summoned like this, but here, he was frightened for a different reason.

The door swung opened, and walked in was the menacing silhouette of the supreme general. The Neuroi, called Ilias, turned around, and was about to bow himself as a form of salute, but was stopped immediately.

 _"You needn't do that. I want this talk to be quick. So I'll get straight to the question."_ Again, his straightforward attitude, as he walked to his chair and sat down.

 _"There has been some whispers among the humans that we, Neurois, have been conducting activities in Gallia that are deemed as terrorism and war crimes. And recently, another two soldiers continued to commit similar acts against the Britannian civilians. Coincidentally, I was there, and those two slipped your name when they are conversing. So I will ask you this: did you do it?"_

Through how he put the question into words, Ilias knew that he couldn't get away with this

 _"Yes sir."_ He admitted

 _"And what did you do with what you stole?"_

 _"I tried to convert it into energies. It didn't work for the most part."_

 _"And for what reasons you commit such immoral acts?"_

Came the question that he expected a reasonable answer.

 _"I…"_ He took a very long pause, obviously too frightened to answer, especially when faced with his icy cold words.

 _"Captain…"_ Alexander suddenly spoke out, his tone less cold, trying to enlighten the atmosphere. But still to him, it was still like the sea of Europa.

 _"If you admit everything, take responsibility, and promise me not to repeat, I will consider letting you off with only a demotion. That is the most generous offer I can give you now."_

Poor guy. He was drowning in the processing the files of terror in his core right now. But for Alexander, he deserved it, deserved to be frightened and disciplined. After this, he should become a soldier who knows the meaning of morality.

After another few minutes, the captain finally told everything. It was simply a sudden raise in bloodlust that he and a few of his men had. And then he spilled every name of the Neurois that committed the act. Afterwards, they all received a demotion notice

* * *

On the while, Jynetta had found what it seemed to be her destination. It wouldn't have caught her attention without the sign, which said 'Emilia's Orphanage'. The title itself was self-explanatory.

Before entering, she checked herself for any traits or signs of Neuroi on her. She had already shape-shifted her clothes to make it human-like, her eyes turned from red to green, her skin turning into a more human color, while herself wearing a brown coat, black jeans and a scarf.

After finishing, she knocked the wooden door. After a while, a woman, apparently in her middle-age, appeared opening the door. It looked like she is the owner, Emilia, of this orphanage

"What is it that- oh dear!" She noticed the child Jynetta was carrying and immediately opened the door widely to let her in.

"Who is that poor thing? Why is she covered with bruises and cuts like that?" She asked, with a caring and concerning voice as Jynetta handed her the unconscious girl.

"Uhh…" She tried to pick the words to say. But eventually nothing came to mind than one thing. "There is a raid. Two Neuroi soldiers broke into her house and killed her relatives."

The truth

"Oh my god! That's horrible. Those monsters are at it again? Jesus, they never leave us alone, won't they?" The woman said, with venom in her voice.

'Again?'

Does she mean the last attack on Paris?

Or are there any other attack like this?

"Umm, madam. About the Neurois…"

"Yes, my dear." She replied in a motherly aura that she had.

"Are they that bad? I-I mean…you just said that they were at it. Do they usually plunder or massacre people like that?"

The woman was quite baffled with Jynetta's question, her face a little bit suspicious. It was indeed quite strange to hear someone of that age not knowing about it. But ultimately, she replied honestly.

"Always."

Jynetta was shocked at the word.

Always.

Is that even real?

The Neuroi army that she had always served under, she was loyal to, always killing civilians and innocents.

"That's what I heard anyway. I have a few friends who used to live in Orussia. You can ask them. They said that village destructions in Orussia are extremely common that there are a specific cemetary for villages."

'Villages…'

Not for people, but for villages.

That pretty much described the extent of the casualties.

But she couldn't bring herself to believe it.

That the Neurois were behind all of it.

However, if the Neurois didn't do it, then who?

"By the way, what's your name dear?" The woman asked.

"Uhh…"

She couldn't say her Neuroi name, as it is too alien for the Britannian, unlike Alexander's name. So she would have to come up with another one

"...It's Vera."

That was such a poor attempt at it. The name itself was not bad, but still too alien, even more than her Neuroi name.

"Vera…such a weird name. But well, this orphanage is most thankful to you for saving this little soul." The woman said, in an appreciative tone

"Well, uhh…I don't really…"

"No, really. We, as humans, have the responsibility of helping and saving others when they are in need. I don't know how to thank you enough for saving her and bringing her here."

'You should thank Alexander instead…'

She didn't do anything.

"Anyway, I have to go and accommodate this little girl. Again thank you, and God bless you."

"Yeah…God bless you…too." Her reaction were odds. She weren't good at talking to humans like this, not to mention blessing them.

She left the orphanage, deep in thoughts.

* * *

Jynetta returned to Alexander's office moments later, only to witness that the interrogation was already over, and the man who was called already left.

The only one in the room was the current owner of this office, who was engulfed in the holograms of maps.

"Ah Jynetta." Alexander addressed her in human form of communication. "Call the others, I have urgent news."

"Oh…Yes sir." She left immediately, only to come back with Alexander's two close aides.

 _"What is it?"_ Eris asked.

 _"Do you have the scout report I demanded?"_

 _"Yes. Currently, their fleet is moving their ways towards the Western African region, with a total number of ships around 800, mostly transports for landings."_

 _"Hmm."_ He nodded in acknowledgement. _"The number of witches?"_

 _"Ehhh…"_ She scratched her head. _"We don't have the statistic on that."_

 _"There might be around…2 to 3 squadrons. It would not be a problem for me to extinguish them."_ Gawain stated, in his usual confident demeanor.

 _"No…I think not."_ But Alexander wasn't so certain. _"The witches aren't like normal soldiers. Their numbers are relatively rare. And because of that, they have established a tight bond with each other. And once a bond is tight enough, you don't know how far they would go and would do."_

He finished, as he looked at a holographic picture, of two Britannian sisters, who apparently were witches as well.

 _"So I expect to see your mindset changed, at least for the next engagement, general."_ Alexander turned to Gawain, with an expecting look.

He was obviously unprepared for this reaction. Gawain only coughed slightly as he nodded.

 _"The current enemy fleet's position?"_

 _"We have yet to uncover its precise location, but they will be likely to encounter our position somewhere around 0300 and 0400."_ Eris said.

 _"We should leave now. I will discuss the rest of the briefing once we are on the Aegis."_

 _"Hmmm."_ They all nodded simutaneously, and filed out of the room.

* * *

HMS Furious

2200

"Achtung!"

The strict voice of colonel Edytha Neumann of the Imperial Karlsland Airforce echoed through out the small but packed room, catching the attention of the witches of the two squadrons. Walking in along with the colonel was a middle-aged man, with very short hair, in which the colour of it was nearly indistinguishable, chiseled face and donned a Wehrmacht tunic mustard-yellow officer uniform, designed especially for fieldmarshals. The stern and stoic expressions on his face caused Hanna, who was initially weren't willing to salute, to stand up in attention.

"Good evening. My name is Edytha Neumann, colonel of the Imperial Karlsland Airforce."

"And I am the commander of the African expeditionary forces, Ernst Rommel, along with my fellow companion, Patton, who were, for some reasons, absent for today." They both introduced. As Rommel at eased the witches, Neumann immediately started the briefing.

"So as you know it pretty much already, we will be attacking the Western Africa region in order to gain a foothold in our struggle against the Neuroi occupation. Recently, the number of Neurois in the area has decreased significantly for some reasons, which has weakened the defensive capabilities there."

"Locating in the heart of the Earth, Africa holds an extremely important strategic meanings to us, as it is the large interchanging point to Europe and Asia, all of which are under the oppression of the Neurois. If we can retake the area, a sea route between Liberion and Africa can be established. Furthermore, the Neuroi's occupation in Gallia and Spaniard will have to fight against two fronts once we accomplish the task."

'But will we even get there?' Were the thoughts lingering in the 501st's mind, after the total failure of the defense of Britannia.

"Of course, this operation won't be guaranteed a success, as it was met with a fair amount of opposition from the Liberion high command, but it will be worth the risk if we succeed." Rommel assured, as if he could read the minds of the maidens in front of him.

"The fact that the number of Neurois decreased doesn't mean we will not meet opposition. The landing operation will take place in less than two days in the three locations shown above. Your task, as a witch, is to simply cover for the landing crafts against Neuroi fires, and neutralize as many Neurois as you can before the landing of the transports."

"Is that it?" Asked Hanna, who seemed pretty unimpressed.

"Yes, the exact time of the landings will be informed as soon as possible, but I want you to be vigilant at all times. The Neurois are now unpredictable. Who knows what tricks they have up its sleeves right now."

The image of the tall, young, coated man on the giant zeppelin back then returned to Mio, who broke a drop of cold sweat, remembering the painful experience she had with him.

If he is the one who commands the Neurois, then he will definitely not overlook the sheer size of this operation. He, for sure, will be here, and will be the opponent.

"What's wrong, Mio?" Asked Minna, who was sitting next to her, examining her expressions.

"Nothing…" She denied it. But Minna knew it wasn't nothing.

It will be difficult, judging not by the strength and intimidation of the Neurois, but by the unpredictability of its commander.

"I expect you to execute this plan accordingly. Especially you Marseille." Neumann said, as the said witches exchanged glares with her.

After the briefing, the witches returned to their quarters, preparing for the upcoming battles.

* * *

0315

Atlantic Ocean, near Africa.

Aegis command room.

The sun hadn't risen just yet. The sky was still one pitch of black, with the only exceptions of a few lone shining stars, which although beautiful in its own ways, nobody was there to witness it. The humans were still asleep, while the Neurois inside the dreadnought-type flying behemoth were too occupied for that. There is a battle ahead of them.

The human's combined fleet had been moving just as Alexander was anticipating. The ambushing forces had been set up. They are currently lying still beneath the surface of the ocean.

 _"General Gawain has moved into his cruiser at the ambush point. The cloaking device is operating without a problem."_ Jynetta reported to Alexander, just as he was about to ask.

 _"Very good. Now I want you to lead our 101_ _st_ _saboteur unit into battle."_

 _"The 101_ _st_ _? What for?"_

 _"There will be a huge number of landing crafts preparing to deliver the ground forces to land. They are the main concern of this operation"_

 _"You want me to bomb them, sir?"_

 _"Yes. The witches are not that significant in this battle. While the ambush is dealing with them, you need to eliminate as many ground forces as possible."_

 _"Roger!"_ She left immediately, leaving only Eris on the dreadnought with Alexander.

 _"I'm still concerned about the effectiveness of the decoy in the Sakhalin."_ She said.

 _"They've already delayed their Fusan fleet for 3 days, what else are you making a fuss over?"_ He replied, confused over her statement

 _"No, I mean those Fusan. I am concerned over their speed of their naval ships. Comparing to its counterparts in other nations, the Fusan's navy is known for its high velocity vessels. And the possibility that they will take detours to save time."_

 _"So in general, you are worried about them rushing to help the combined fleet here."_

 _"You got me."_

 _"It's not a concern. This is just a game, deliberately set up."_ He said, while reassuring, calculatively

 _"For what? You are playing that cat and mouse game again? At least tell me what you want to achieve."_ Her tolerance and patience was high. Trying to understand his decisions and thought by herself was difficult, but because she was the closest person to him, he should have at least tell her.

 _"Knowledge."_ Alexander replied bluntly and simply. He said what she demanded, and whether if she could get it, that is her problem.

'It's hopeless.' She had never met someone like this before. But at least he was someone she could follow with a light of victory.

 _"Alright, let us proceed. Aegis, conceal yourself among the clouds, and send out a group of fighters. They'll catch their attention."_

 _"Got it, sir"_ He replied.

* * *

At the same time, on the radar of the HMS Furious, appeared several spots, numbering up to about fifteen of them.

"Sir! Neurois dead ahead! Fifteen mid-sized! 20000 meters!" The operator of the ship reported.

"Prepare for aerial combat! Launch all anti-air units!" The captain ordered.

That instant, all personals on the HMS Furious, along with the rest of the 800 warships were rudely, but reasonably, woken up to the surprise of auch an early morning attack.

"Did the Neurois detect our presence? They don't usually act in packs like this." One of the captain's officers asked in confusion.

"I don't know, their patterns are now unpredictable. Fleets that are only about mid-sized are already enough to send a bunch of them coming at us." The captain replied

"Or maybe they are just patrols." Another one joined.

"In any cases, there is a huge possibility that the enemy knows we are here. Have the witches airborne, immediately."

"Roger!"

501st's quarters.

"A warning?!" Gertrude bolted up in a matter of seconds as she heard the sirens ringing endlessly in the background.

"In the middle of the night?" While Erica appeared with a groggy expressions, upset with the fact that she would have to wake up and fight.

"A group of fifteen Neuroi's mid-sized Neuroi has been detected. Prepare for combat!"

In a matter of minutes, the 501st's witches were already on their launch pad, preparing to be elevated to the runway to launch themselves into the air.

On the while, the 31st's were already airborne.

"Damn it…My beautiful sleep is ruined." Hanna growled, having to adjust her eyes accordingly and repeatedly to the changing light intensity.

"Come on Tina." Raisa, her fellow companion, said, addressing Hanna using her intimate names. "Everybody's the same. We are near the Neuroi's territory after all."

"I'm blaming the Neurois, not the higher-ups. Damn these rustic creatures, can't they pick a better time to attack?"

"But this is strange…I have never seen Neurois attacking this early." Raisa cracked a smile at her friend's curse, but then turned solemn

"Hmm, I have a feeling that this is intentional. But I can't figure out anything beyond that."

Just as she said that, Neuroi beams began flying pass the face of the Star of Africa.

"Spread out and attack from different directions!"

Along with the designated witches, conventional aircrafts also took off in assistance of the opposition against the Neurois. But because the planes weren't specifically designed for night combat, they were rather insignificant comparing to the flying maidens.

The Neurois, which were grouping up in a tight formation, suddenly spreaded into a slightly arched formation, and did a curved maneuver, increasing altitude quickly then dived, repeating the process while each individual Neurois slowly spinned around its horizontal, not to forget returning fire. This made the battle on the Neuroi point of view looking more like a chaotic and messy dance rather than an actual combat situation,

"What the fuck are they doing?!" Shirley, her face containing a titanium of confusion, said as she was nearly hit by their psychotic movement.

"Liberion! Don't just stand there, shoot!" Hanna was quick to notice Shirley's lull caused by confusion and reminded her

While looking absolutely insane and pointless, the maneuver actually had its effectiveness. Because the timing of each dive and soar were intentionally randomized, the support battleship's armament had a hard time adjusting their guns accordingly, due to their slow elevation and depression speed. And eventually, they decided to set the guns at a certain angle and stay there, waiting for the Neurois to go directly into their line of fire.

Alexander watched as his maneuver proved its effectiveness, while Eris was quite confused of its necessity.

 _"Are you serious Alex?"_ She asked

 _"I am amused by how they react. And it has its use here. Anyway, the status of the ambush?"_ He replied, his eyes focusing solely on the holographics of the battlefield

 _"The fleet is only ten kilometers away from it, but…"_

 _"But?"_ Alexander's red eyes raised a bit, his voice a bit wistful.

 _"I think general Gawain is attacking. He's dropping the cloaking layers."_

His red eyes, from his normal state, suddenly snapped open at the revelation. He moved the battlefield visibility to the ambush site, which to his eyes saw the proof to Eris's words.

He immediately connects himself to Gawain.

 _"General Gawain. Return to your assigned coordinates, immediately."_ He said, his voice raised in a strict manner, but still retained his calm attitude.

 _"B-But I thought you are signalling me to attack. I don't understand!"_ He replied

Alexander mentally facepalmed himself. The maneuver he just did made Gawain misunderstood that it was the signal of attack. And now he was at its risk of being uncovered too early.

"Sir! Neurois detected beneath the surface of the ocean! Ten kilometers!" A young enlist on a destroyer reported as the sonar of his ships caught sight of Gawain's forces

"What?!" And that captain, surprised by the development, reported this to the rest of the ship's captains, and high-ranking officers in charge. This spreaded out like wildfire, to each and every soldiers.

"The enemy is beneath us?!"

"Impossible!"

"Fuck!"

"What is this?!"

"How did they manage to do this?!"

"Stop them immediately! Don't let them touch the ships!"

Of course, witches included. The sound of witches of the two squadrons echoing a mix of surprised cries and hasty orders could be heard and felt from a distance.

The ruckus was enough for Alexander to realize one thing: Gawain has screwed up.

In this sticky situation, he would have to go along with it. Flexibility is invaluable in a battle

 _"Forget it. Emerge from the surface and engage the ships in close range, low altitude."_

 _"As you wish."_

It's a game intentionally set up after all.

 _Let's see how they react._

They were struggling with all this sudden development. One by one, the Neurois were popping out of the water and began firing on the bow of the ship at the head of the formation. Its two main turrets at the front sustained critical damage from the increasingly intensive firepower from the surfacing Neuroi.

Seeing this, the witches immediately abandoned the attack on the fifteen mid-sized Neurois and proceeded to engage this new enemy. The mid-sized had also stopped the maneuver and proceeded to break formation, each attacking its own enemies.

"What the hell do we do?! We can't storm into their position!" The captain of the front battleship called back to Neumann, waiting for orders.

"Just continue in your current course as planned!" That wasn't what he wanted to hear, as Neumann was as surprised and confused as him.

"Evasive maneuver." Instead, the calm and composed Rommel gave the order. "Request reinforcements from the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing."

"Hard to port!" The captain of the fleet commanded.

The front row of the fleet steadily turned left, away from Gawain's position, along with all landing crafts and ships at the back, to avoid casualties from the sudden appearance of such a large number of ships.

 _Hmmm._

His eyes narrowed. Alexander closely watched their actions through his holograms on the Aegis. Although his intended plans for the battle had somewhat been screwed up by a total unnecessary misunderstanding by his subordinate, everything was going well for him at the least. Every actions and movements of his enemies now would be the key to Alexander's future battles, and a valuable asset to his magnificent plan of their destruction. That is the reason why he couldn't afford to lift his eyes off of this.

His enemies were conducting evasive maneuvers for all landing crafts. That illustrated the importance of them to their success of the battle, and the entire operation. He knew that already, but wanted to confirm his suspicions. Now let's test the their morales.

 _"Mark enemy's landing crafts and auxilaries ships. Saboteur units, advance."_

* * *

Aegis's hangar bay.

A large number of Neurois were gathering, preparing to be teleported through to the battlefield.

The 101st saboteur unit.

This is one of the relatively rare occasions where they were able to join in midst of an enraging battle, and play a major role in it. Saboteurs units almost always specialized in destroying infrastructures and damaging vehicles and weapons behind enemy lines before a battle. This time, they were tasked to intercept the enemy during battle. A more dangerous job, but it was enough to send one individual human-like figure among it to jump in excitement.

 _"Is everybody present yet?"_ He proactively made sure everybody in his squad were present and accounted for before Jynetta could even do it. Because the commander, Ilias, of the squad was demoted and sent away, they were literally commander-less, and temporarily had Jynetta as commander. But here, this guy, usually seen as laid back, were surprisingly active, and took charge instead.

 _"Calm down. Are you overtaking my job here?"_ Jynetta reprimanded.

 _"Sorry ma'am…"_ He replied, but his excitement wouldn't die down.

'It seems full.' She concluded as she looked around, rechecking it.

 _"Let's go! To victory!"_ She shouted battle cries, as she jumped to the deploying area, her hand summoning her precious Retarynax. Her body slowly sank, through the pad, and to the outside, among the clouds, followed by a group of over a dozen sentry-type Neurois. The proactive Neuroi, who was faceless, donning a formal black Neuroi uniform, with red hexagons and red collar, appeared last, with a gun, which looked like a Mauser C96 but attached to his hand, equipped.

Jynetta readjusted her boosters to keep her balanced, and checked her altitude meter within her core.

'2000 meters.'

She had to increase it a bit, to avoid radar detection. But not too much, or she would reach her limits.

Leading the 101st through the thick clouds, Jynetta slowly climbed to the height of 4000, and leveled herself, marching horizontally and slowly, observing the enemy fleet as they gradually pass through her.

Then, after 5 minutes, she spotted the moving landing crafts. She widened her eyes. There were a lot, A LOT, of them. Her squad wouldn't be able to destroy it all in one run. Personally, Jynetta wouldn't want to use much of her powers into this one, since her desecration wave were energy-consuming, and should only be used when she was in a pinch.

But her job is to destroy as many as she can, not destroy all. Her supreme general, Alexander, had said that. So she needn't worry over it.

After watching them, the attack began.

Jynetta began her magnificent dive towards her targets, going at a sharp vertical angle. She was followed by one, two, five then the entire unit, dropping down onto their target.

The soldiers on the landing crafts and the ships soon realized what were above their heads. They were genuinely surprised, but tried to retaliate using anti-aircraft guns and their personal guns. Obviously, they were useless against the armor and agility of the Neurois.

Jynetta found herself falling near one of the designated targets, so she readjusted her fall, and before she touched the seafloor, she fired her lasers at the target, blowing it to pieces. She then did a graceful arched maneuver, like a dive-bomber, flying away from the scene dangerously close to the water.

Most of her squad did the same, while the man with the Mauser-like gun on his hand simply punched through the target into the water and later resurface.

The sudden attack at the back of the fleet targeting the landing crafts had also triggered chaos among the officers and crewmen of the fleet.

"What is this?!" Colonel Neumann were shocked beyond description as she realized the landing crafts were struck by surprise. This fact had broken her expectation of a plan that goes accordingly to her prediction completely. The Neurois knew exactly what she was doing, and had swiftly and precisely countered it.

"Seems like the reinforcement from the 502nd will not be enough…" Rommel stated, which even added more terror to the chaos.

"Lieutenant Marseille, Flying Officer Hartmann! Head back and intercept the Neurois at the back of the fleet!" Minna quickly ordered two of the most talented witches.

"Hai!"

"Yes ma'am!"

They immediately U-turned and bolted across the long line of warships. Eventually, they came into contact with two sabotaging Neurois. It was a simple sentry-type, both of them didn't want to waste her skills nor too many bullets into it. With a few coordinated shots, the two sentries were killed.

Erica pulled up, spinning around a few rounds, leveled off, then burst fired, targeting another Neuroi, killing it instantly. One point ahead for Erica.

Hanna, who was quite determined to get a kill to equal the score, pulled up as well. But before she could burst fire for another kill, a shadow emerged from above.

She dodged by instinct, before she even had the chance to realize the identity of the shadow. It was Jynetta, who had completed her first drop and was preparing for a second blow. Having seen the presence of a new adversary, she dived, like a falcon hunting its prey, her sword risen. She missed the ram, but her blade had clashed with Hanna's Striker Units, leaving a slash blade on it.

"Hnng!" She span around to have a closer look at her new opponent. A long-haired brunette in a grey battle dresses decorated with Neuroi hexagons. And the most astonishing fact was that she looked exactly human.

So the rumors of human-like Neurois are true…

There's no time for that. Hanna immediately open fired, her shots tracking into Jynetta's position. The Neuroi warrior proceeded to increase her altitude, taking advantage of a low cloud to decrease her opponent's detection range. Then, Hanna's gun ran out of ammo, and she had to spend a few seconds reloading it. The few golden seconds for Jynetta to initiate another dive at full throttle.

She did not squander that opportunity.

Jynetta dived again, this time firing the beams from her hands before engaging close quarter combat with Hanna. The beams were blocked easily with her shields, but the incoming slice was too powerful. It broke into tiny little pieces as Jynetta passed through. However, the miliseconds it took to break the shields were enough for Hanna to evade it.

Erica finally noticed the Star of Africa clashing with an unknown being, but couldn't actually intervene. She looked incredibly strong, and require times to take down. Every seconds she wasted, the Neurois would continue to destroy the landing crafts, thus threatening to the failure of the mission.

Meanwhile, the fifteen mid-sized, now nine after the long combat finally merged with Gawain's supposed-to-be ambush force.

 _"They are moving away from us. Extend our flanks and engage them. Do not let them get away!"_ Gawain ordered in his large-sized whale-like Neuroi.

The right flank of his arched formation turned to match with the carriers and battleships. For a while, it was a pretty wise decision, but because of this, the ability to cover each other in battle had been reduced. And the witches of the 501st exploited this thoroughly.

"Attack that stingray Neuroi! Severe its flanks!" Minna ordered, as the Neuroi were pretty much loned.

Sanya's rocket launcher and Eila's MG-34 did a great job exploiting a hole in it, exposing its core. And Perrine's light machine gun finished it off.

Seeing the gap in the Neuroi formation, the two squadrons rushed into it, and mopped up the Neurois on the weaker flank. The human vessels had been secured

 _"Damn it!"_ Gawain cursed loudly. _"All batteries, aim for those witches, open fire!"_

As you could guess it already, with so many witches on site, the beams were deflected like water sprayed into a wall.

Seeing that his group would not be able to hold out against that many witches, Gawain decided to abandon Alexander's initial curved formation and instead rounded it up to one large group, to dish out huge amount of damage to the witches as much as possible. He thought it was probable, now that he has fucked up the ambush plan.

At least, to some extent, it is proving its effectiveness, as the witches struggled to push through it, thus saving his face from a poor performance.

"Hahhhh!" As the beam power intensified, Yoshika had to put up a much larger shield to cover her comrades, so that they could push forward. But it was pretty futile. The firepower was pretty damn strong for witches with smaller shield generating capabilities like Mio.

"Colonel! When will the 502nd be here?! We can't take much more of this!" Mio almost shouted to Neumann.

"Be patient! They are coming!" She replied, angrily. Now that the situation was getting tense, she couldn't stand the sound of people shouting help at her simultaneously.

But thankfully, a blessing in a form of nine beautiful maidens had came to her.

And came the sound she was hoping for for hours.

"Colonel Neumann! Reinforcement has arrived!"

"Rall!" She uttered in relief, as she looked at the field marshal. He too sighed in slight content.

"The witches reinforcements have arrived!" Following Neumann were the cheers of hundreds of thousands of seamen as they pointed and eyed to the North West of the battlefield. Nine witches of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wings, otherwise known as Brave Witches, has arrived on the battlefield to aid in the attack against the Neurois.

At the same time, shells began flying from the South-West direction .

"Marshal Rommel! Admiral Yamamoto's fleet is emerging from the horizon!" The captain of Furious also reported.

And along with it are…

"Flight Lieutenant Takami Karibuchi of the Imperial Fuso Navy, reporting for battle!"

Four Fusan witches, one of which was the famous hero of Libau.

 _"More witches incoming. Call for reinforce-"_ Gawain made a hasty order.

He barely had the chance to finish his order, as an explosion to the left hull of his ship sent him flying from his post.

Takami's precision was top-notch, no wonder that she was called a hero. Despite not destroying the ship, but managing a hit at such a distance was totally exceptional.

"We barely managed to get here. Two-third of our fleet is still behind." Admiral Yamamoto also sighed in relief. "Thank god, I have done my duty."

"Admiral, our ally's fleet is under attack!"

"Then what are you waiting for. All hands to battle station! Enemy dead ahead! Bring all guns to bear!"

"Forty-five degrees!"

"Ute! (Fire!)"

The two fast battleships and one destroyer simultaneously exploded their guns fiercely, its shells pounded onto the Neuroi's forces blockading the combined fleet, stunning them.

"Let's show these monsters what we humans are capable of!"

* * *

 _"General Gawain is asking for reinforcement, sir."_ Aegis reported to Alexander, who was merely sitting still and enjoying his drinks all the time.

He merely smirked, as though he had everything going in his calculation.

 _"Just leave them be."_

Aegis stopped responding. He knew that his ranks in the Neuroi army was nothing compared to Alexander's

 _Only four ships…So he is willing to risk everything to rush towards his objectives. Worthy of praise._

He continued to watch.

"Enemy count is sixty three!" Minna's Three Dimensional Space Understanding ability was proving effectiveness.

"Attention all witches! Commence attack!"

Aside from Erica and Hanna, who were busy dealing with the saboteurs at the back, the witches began to mass up, and charged straight into the staggering Neuroi column, meeting them in a head on attack. Massive explosions lit up the early morning sky as the two clashed each other in a gigantic firefight. The humans, from the point of being overwhelmed, are now having an equal match with the Neurois. Conventional aircrafts also took off from their respective carriers to support the witches in their attacks. They were all eagered to see this operation to a success.

 _"They are getting the upper-hand, Alex. Do something."_

It was only then that Alexander finally stood up from the chair.

 _"That's enough. All units, fall back."_

But his orders were also questionable. Instead of sending out more to fight, Alexander decided the opposite option.

Jynetta, while in the process of using her wrath abilities, were quite astonished at the sudden orders but wasted no time rushing back into the high clouds, along with eight of the remaining Neurois of the 101st. The massive body of Neurois also moved in reverse, and soon turned their backs against the combined fleet, rushing into the huge and thick layer of clouds.

"They're retreating!"

Cheers of victory began to be chanted among the troops. Some were on the brink of having a meltdown due to relief, while others simply wipe away their sweat of anxiety.

A hard-earned victory for humankind's fleet, indeed.

But their celebrations were cut short.

From the clouds that the Neurois were retreating into, a black something appeared. Slowly emerging, that black something got larger and larger by seconds, until it finally took shape.

It was a Neuroi.

An extremely massive Neuroi, bigger than anything they had ever seen before.

Shaped like a mouse cursor, it appeared above the combined fleet, coming down diagonally at them, slowly like a mountain, dwarfing the rest of the entire fleet combined

"What the hell is that?"

Supreme general Alexander's flagship.

Its sheer size was enough to stun the witnesses.

For a while, fightings and firings ceased due to the appearance of such a huge and menacing vehicle. Now that the size of the ships is already shocking, they don't want to hear the number of weapons and ships on that thing.

"I have never seen a Neuroi that large before…" Rommel and Yamamoto muttered almost at the same time.

A few hundred meters from the water, the dreadnought stopped descending, and leveled itself, hovering there. To the surprise of the bystanders, it did not open fire on the vulnerable combined fleet.

On the top of the ship, a tiny figure stands, wearing a black coat.

A warrior that stood firm against many.

A commander that dropped countless terrors on his enemies.

"That is!"

The members of the 501st, except for Lynette, recognized him immediately.

Lynette, on the other hand, could deduce his identity from the appearance and the reaction of her fellow comrades: The man who brought about the destruction to her homeland

She raised her guns, opted for vengeance. But Minna stopped her just moments before she could pull the trigger.

"Don't. If you shoot, thousands of men will die the next moment."

She hesitated, holstered her guns, but her anger did not subside.

The 31st, 502nd and the four recently joined Fusan witches looked with suspicions the man on top of the gigantic ship

Then, the figure began to speak.

"Field Marshal Ernst Rommel…" A calm and unflappable voice echoed through the radio of HMS Furious. It was surely not from any of the ship's captains he knew. It was too antagonistic.

"Who are you?" He asked, but his instinct telling him that he knew him, or had faced him.

"The person defeating you and Montgomery at Suez not long, don't you remember?"

Rommel's eyes widened at this.

"I wonder what motivated you to return to Africa this time, field marshal."

"I thought you know it."

Alexander's expressions turned to sly amusement.

"Seems like our position is reversed now. I hope to face you again and your cunning tactical exploits, field marshal."

"Until we meet again, general." Rommel finished, his eyes narrowed, but he cracked a smile in respect of a powerful adversary.

With that said, the dreadnought slowly turned to the north. The five powerful engines roared, as it accelerated away from the battlefield, along with his army of powerful, but defeated Neurois.

But despite the defeat, Alexander left the battlefield with a smile of victory.

* * *

 **I'll leave it to you to decide whether it is a defeat or not. But I can assure you, Alexander's decision is for something greater. You'll never guess it.**

 **MUAHAHAHA.**

 **Anyway, evil mode off. This fight is probably the only battle chapter that I feel awkward when writing. This is because of the feeling of looseness when implementing some of the greatest generals in history into this battle. For example, Rommel. He is a great man. I can tell you. But I almost don't know how he would react in a situation like being surprised by a large mountain-sized ship. I've tried to gather many information about him in real world and the SW, even the fanfics here that mentioned him, but I still feel awkward about him. And the fact that he is on a carrier would make people disagree with me. But please pardon me that. This is for the purpose of interactions between the man who conquered Europe, Africa and Asia to the famed 'Desert Fox' in the SW universe. If he hadn't met here, he would have met him somewhere else instead. And for the large scope of Alexander, the top military leaders can't just sit still, right?**

 **The operation to take West Africa is a little bit based on the real life operation Torch, but is largely altered, since this is a fictional world, and this fic is yet another fictional universe. So please don't bend me on that.**

 **A little trivia: Europa is a moon of the planet Jupiter, and is extremely cold.**

 **Anyway, stay tune to the next chapter.** **And for those who remembered my sayings earlier that Aegis won't be joining battle. Well, he didn't. He just hovered there for Alexander's little show, then left. And besides, no one knows what I have in mind. I didn't say exactly that he won't be in battles. I just said who knows.**

 **MUAHAHAHA.**


	9. Chapter 9: Neuroi's vision

**Welcome to chapter 9 of The day Britannia fell. We are currently about 1/3 of my intended numbers of chapters now**

 **My apologies for the tendency to post a short chapter after every large battle. Because I wanted to conclude a little bit and settle down for you and me before moving on to the next events of the story. And also my apologies for the long period of time without any activities, because I have been quite busy these days. I've got plans for the future, so I must concentrate on them first. But I won't abandon this fic, so don't worry.**

 **So enjoy, and hope you stay tuned to the next chapter**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own SW or any of its contents, or the OCs that I borrowed**

* * *

Chapter 9: Neuroi's vision

North Atlantic.

A large fleet, consisting of over a few dozen Neurois, was moving through the water moderately, exhausted from the previous battle they just took part in. There were originally over a hundred fighters, but they had all retreated to its mothership, the Aegis, which was flying with great ferocity over the sky, carrying within it the man that was reowned as the son of a goddess. He left the battle in defeat, but with a triumphant state of mind.

The reason for him couldn't be simpler: He had gained huge amount of information on his enemy, in which every each of them is a priceless piece for his final grand masterpiece: The total and utter destruction of the human's army. There's no need to rush, everything is going smoothly. For him, at least, that is the dangerous thing.

When his close aide, Eris, came in, he was, again, looking at the holographics of artworks from all around the world, only to stop when she came right next to him, with a posture full of curiosity. She had a lot of questions for him.

 _"Just what was that Alex? Do you really have to do that?"_

 _"Yes."_ He said with a delicate tone. _"I do believe it is necessary."_

 _"You mean throwing West Africa to them? It does not look like a necessary thing."_

 _"I told you, they have my reward. They have proven themselves to be more than I expected."_

 _"But-"_

 _"Listen."_ Alexander cut her off, as he turned to her, his pale skin contrasted with his crimson red eyes.

 _"A strategist does not always attack and attack. In a war, the most efficient fighter is he who avoids what is strong, and strike what is weak, is he who knows when to and not to fight. I've studied tactics, strategies of hundreds of species, and worked to perfect my own. It is not just a hobby, it is a commitment…"_

With a soft yet warm voice, he continued, his red eyes glowed, as if it was seeing into her soul.

 _"And to these words specifically, if you commit yourself to experiencing this, you will begin to it see as I see it, a beautiful art form."_

And it was at this moment that Eris was reminded of the reason why she followed this pale-skinned man in front of her, the equivalent of all the galaxy's finest tactician under the name of Alexander Kherol.

She smiled internally, and did not question him any further.

 _"In return, I also have a question that I want a clear answer."_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Is there any…report from the hives? For example, an attempted infiltration?"_

Eris jerked her head in realization.

 _"Actually there is! Let me get it."_ She shutted her movements down for a while. The report came in right when she was busy watching the battle, and because she didn't want to bother Alexander with his work, she totally forgot about it.

 _"There it is. An infiltration attempt on the Gallian hive. The perpetrator is a white flying mecha. It looks like a mechanical witch, as its legs are similar to a witch's Striker."_

 _"Just as I expected. How about we head over there right now to see the full detail of it?"_

She agreed, although there wasn't any point in answering since he was gonna do it no matter what. And as if there was anything to do aside from sitting idly in the office. She didn't want to ask him out again, as he would just take her to another landmark and ramble about its artistic architecture for another couple of hours anyway.

The Aegis then separated from its fleet and began flying towards mainland Gallia. To the direction of the hive.

* * *

They arrived there that evening. The one thousand meters long dreadnought began to dock itself right under a hive that was only slightly wider than it. The upperhull and the command tower of the dreadnought connected to the dome-like structure of the huge hive. The dome usually did not open this wide for entrance and exit of Neurois, but in this case, they had to make an exception. The hive superstructure was enough to hold the entire ship's mass, so there is no reason why it had to use its energy to hover nearby. Overseer Lzammer had it all within his expectation.

The old and respectful faceless man wearing a plain dark grey tunic on the other hand was rather nervous, shown by him walking around restlessly, as he was trying to figure out a way to explain this human infiltration to him. Surely, Alexander had summoned some of the troops there away to deal with his work, but that is no reasonable reason to let his guard down and allow a core to get stolen away.

And while he was busy trying to come up of something, Alexander, the last man he would want to meet right now yet the man who he had to inevitably face, walked into the room.

 _"Sir! Uhhhh, we have a problem."_ He was clearly not yet prepared.

 _"I know. I can tell from your restlessness."_ Alexander replied excruciatingly, in which the old Neuroi sighed and resigned to the inevitable dark fate that awaits him.

 _"What is it, overseer?"_ He asked the obvious question, despite having known it already. The purpose is different this time.

 _"A mecha has entered our hive and has stolen away a core."_

 _Good._

 _"And the detail of this attack."_

 _"It happened a few hours ago, when you were at West Africa. My…apologies, sir."_

He had expected something harsh to be said, but no.

 _"Thank you overseer for the report. The information about your encounter with the mecha is very helpful. You may go."_

Lzammer was not able to comprehend this. He's letting him get away without any punishment?

 _"T-Thank you, general."_ He backed away from him, out of the door. He shouldn't be asking more when he was given the opportunity to leave.

When the man left, Alexander headed to the core room, where one of the cores were missing.

 _"Core X164, codename Varl…"_ Alexander noted the sign nearby.

 _"We should track down the location of the core and head there immediately."_ One Neuroi said.

 _"No, I think not…The humans would have probably shutted down all of its functions."_

 _"How do you mean?"_ Eris asked, curiously, which Alexander smirked with confidence that he knew their intention.

 _"The humans are trying to make a Neuroi."_ He said bluntly.

A Neuroi?

Man-made?

Is that even possible?

 _"Or in some other cases, a machine with Neuroi capabilities. I know, this concept is rather unfamiliar to us. They are intending to surprise us with this machine, destroy us. Just…let them taste that."_

He cocked his eyebrows mischievously, in which Eris was quite confused.

 _"The idea seemed devastating on papers, but they have missed a spot, which will soon become their harbinger of destruction. The humans may think they have won, but they never…ever…will."_

His voice suddenly turned cold. Inside his mind, and those around them, this whatever plan that they intend to realize, and those behind this, are totally screwed.

* * *

Underground London.

Just how much longer would she have to stay here?

Despite having the quality of the cells raised, edible food and enough warmth, she still felt herself strained by the lifestyle here. Obviously being in prison wasn't a pleasant thing, and boredom usually took place. She had tried to play some group games with her cellmates, but the fact that her hands were chained pretty much restricted from all activities.

Damn…

She missed her home.

She missed the food that she was used to eating.

She missed her sister, Lynette.

'I wonder is she is ok. She isn't the type to take bad news well.'

The sudden appearance of a tall figure stopped her train of thought, as she realized the person walking towards her.

Supreme general Alexander.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, in a slightly agitated, but less hostile than the last time they met.

"Checking up on my prisoners." He replied, in clear Britannian accent.

"Hoo…How noble of you." Whether this was a mock or a true compliment, Alexander did not know. But he did not hesitate to show respect to that, even if the person saying it was his enemy.

"I thank you, for your hospitality. It's true that I did not receive many prisoners in my career, but when I do, I have to make sure they are well-treated. "

"…" She noticed the genuine tone, and felt a bit regretful of the mock she just said. It's true that after the time he saved her from hypothermia, she was treated a lot better than what it was before. Perhaps he wasn't really a bad guy after all.

She did notice it during these few days.

The city that she was in. After the battle of London, nothing actually happened. No destructions, no chaos. It's all in order, although the people were just afraid of him. But still, it was unlike what she had heard about the Neurois, that they destroy everything in their path.

But still, there could be a deeper reason why he didn't do so.

"Ano…" She found herself struggling to say this, partly because she was talking to her enemy, but mostly because that person was a man. She blushed a little when she spoke

"...Thank you…for the last time. You saved me, and my friends."

Thank you…

This is beyond the expectation of the supreme general. Totally beyond.

The reason for that couldn't be simpler: humans never appreciate him, for what they think he do, even if they don't even know the real story behind it. But now, now this woman, this young lady, actually thanked him for his doings. He, a powerful being, a person that is compared by many to be a son of a goddess, a person with iron will and steel cold determination, for a brief moment, actually showed a soft spot.

"I appreciate…that."

 _It wasn't meant to be this way._

"Also, I have a question for you." Wilma suddenly asked.

"And that is?"

"Do you happen, by any chances, to encounter the 501st JFW?"

"Yes." Alexander replied without hesitation. "Multiple times."

"And do you notice a Britannian there?"

Ah.

Her sister, wasn't it?

Lynette Bishop.

His dwellings onto the witches' profiles weren't a waste of time after all.

"I know what you want to hear. She is alive, and is fighting for your country."

She is alive

The words sent the girl away from the Earth.

Her sister is alive.

She could feel her eyes blurred, as glassy tears of relief began to well up in her eyes.

For a brief moment, she, in this dark, gloomy prison, could feel her being lifted to heaven. The well-being of her relatives, that is enough for her already.

 _Family…_

Alexander didn't say anything more, as he observed his witch in captivity.

She was actually crying from happiness. Happiness of what seemed to be so simple, that Alexander had never once considered worth shedding tears for.

 _Is this what the humans truly values?_

Alexander found it hard to understand, possibly due to the fact that he never had anything that was called family.

Or maybe in this case it was not simply just family.

It was happiness.

And the notable fact was that Alexander had never experienced it before.

True happiness.

He stood up, and left in thoughts.

* * *

Elsewhere, faraway.

"Sir, the 1st Assault unit, the Warlock, has been fully assembled. It is now ready for battle."

"Hmmm!" The Air chief marshal grinned in satisfaction. Now that the expedition forces had taken West Africa as their territory, the humans had currently gained back the initiative on the opposition against the Neurois. Now that he only had to transport the Warlock secretly to Africa, then the entire Gallia would be his. The Neurois would stand no chance against their own power.

"We will show the witches that the military is not a place for weak little girls!" He confidently stated, as the Warlock was transported away.

* * *

 **Alexander seemed to move between countries like nobody's business. But oh well, he had a ship after all.**


	10. Chapter 10: A common enemy

**Welcome to chapter 10 of 'The day Britannia fell'. I really really apologize for disappearing for the last few months. Since I'm about to enter college and migrate to Canada in just a few weeks, so I don't really know how busy I would be. But I promise you that I still have the heat in writing, and I won't abandon my fics and fans of this fics for nothing**

* * *

Chapter 10: A common enemy

What was it that the humans truly loved?

Alexander was struggling to put that question out of his mind. But he couldn't.

That scene kept playing inside his mind, tickling his curiosity.

 _ _What were they truly fighting for?__ He asked himself. What were they trying to achieve?

It was at that moment that his closest assistant walked into his room, noticing his awkward state, his back was unusually laid back against his chair, one of his arm acted as a resting place for his cheek

 _"_ _ _Hey, what's wrong?"__ She instinctively asked, as Alexander turned to look at her.

 _"_ _ _Nothing, just thinking about something."__ He replied.

 _"_ _ _About__ __wh-"__

Eris then stopped herself, reminding herself that there was no reason to ask him further. He was always thinking about complicated stuff that's all.

 _"_ _ _For your own account now."__ It was Alexander's turn to ask. _"_ _ _What brings you here, to my office, this late in the night?"__

 _"_ _ _Well…"__ She rechecked her report to clarify. _"_ _ _Just a small scouting report."__

 _"_ _ _And it is?"__

 _"_ _ _Nothing really, aside from the fact that the human's sea route over the Atlantic has gotten pretty active, with cargo ships beginning to transport weapons to and from their newly aquired territory."__

She scrolled over the report for any further information that she might have missed. There were none.

 _"_ _ _Perhaps I have bothered you, sorry."__ Literally, there weren't really anything to report. But Alexander suddenly placed his gloved hand onto her head.

 _"_ _ _No, you did not."__ He said, as Eris's motion jerked slightly and awkwardly. _"_ _ _Every report is necessary. And besides…"__

 _"_ _ _Besides?"__

 _"_ _ _We still have a personal in their list. And they will be using him against us soon."__

Ah, yeah. The core X164.

Its whereabouts and status was not yet known, as it was not yet activated.

 _"_ _ _About it, I speculate that they might be trying to test it out on one of our bases. I don't have any clues of which, but considering the fact that our own whereabouts are rather vague to them as well are a pretty solid suggestions."__ Alexander explained.

 _"_ _ _So you mean that the hives are the only definite known places to them?"__

 _"_ _ _Yes. And considering the arrogance of these creatures, they will not hesitate to test it out directly on us."__

Eris nodded in a sensible way, but she was still wondering. Alexander did say that he would be letting the humans use the Warlock against the Neuroi without any intervention until a certain moment. And he said it like it was nothing too significant. Did he have a plan already laid out and prepared for it?

 _"_ _ _But I'm still wondering. How will you prepare for this? I mean…you don't seem troubled by this at all. Although this might be a serious threat if we do not defuse it in time."__

Alexander laughed quietly but heartily. She surely is an intriguing assistant indeed.

 _"_ _ _War is not just about sending troops in battle to crush the opposing side my dear Eris. It is a bloody dance. It's brutal, and gruesome, but the beauty of it came from how you manipulate each battle and execute it flawlessly. It is difficult, but that is why it is so interesting."__

Again, with the so idealistic theories that he came up by himself. But still, it was what makes Alexander Alexander.

 _"_ _ _Though I would not want to paint a fine art of it…"__ But then his voice suddenly lowered

 _"_ _ _You say?"__ Eris asked, as she did not hear him clearly.

 _"_ _ _Nevermind."__ But he dismissed it. _"_ _ _For your question specifically, I think I'll need Jynetta and the rest of the group to be here for briefing."__

XXX

A few minutes later, all the ones he requested were present and accounted for.

 _"_ _ _What is all this commotions about general?"__ Gawain asked.

 _"_ _ _We need to discuss about the issue regarding the missing core. And what I'm about to say require very close attention."__ Alexander replied, as he opened a hologram. It was a few lines of ancient words that looked nothing different from a bunch of terrible handwritings. It was written in Neuroi language, but the room occupants could not read it.

 _"_ _ _I don't understand. What does this mean?"__ Jynetta asked.

 _"_ _ _I know you don't. Because this is a code written in ancient Neuroi language."__

The Neurois in the room all nodded in realization, as the mentioning of the language

 _"_ _ _I know you will not want to be lectured about this thing, so I'll be brief with you. This is the code used to enable our feelings. In other words, this allows us to think and feel like regular humans, although with limited processing power."__

It explained why the Neurois were so incapable in their ability to think complicatedly, and how incompetent their tactics were.

 _"_ _ _Is this all written in our core?"__ Jynetta asked

 _"_ _ _Yes, you're correct, but with more complicated variations. This is the basic of the basics, used among troopers among our ranks."__

Alexander then placed his hands onto his chins, and began his explanation.

 _"_ _ _The code is inserted into our core the moment it is manufactured, but remains disabled until the core is attached to the body and activated. Upon activation, the code will enable the system to automatically take orders that is stored inside the core."__

 _"_ _ _But what does it have to do with the captured core?"__

Jynetta, his personal guard, again, asked. But before Alexander had to move his lips for an answer, Eris, who seemed to have get it, replied in his place.

 _"_ _ _So you mean you will try to enable the code so that the core will take our orders instead?"__

The supreme general nodded smugly. It appeared that all the time she had spent listening to his rampants about these kind of stuff had, in some ways, lightened her mind a little bit.

 _"_ _ _The humans do not know the extent of our core's processing power. It is one of a kind. It acts as a processor and an energy provider. Basically it gives us everything we need to maintain our form as we appear today. The humans only understands the latter's case. They are only using it for energy, for our raw strength. For all that might, they do not know the power of our mind. And that is what I want to prove them wrong."__

Indeed it was a well-coordinated plan.

 _"_ _ _Then perhaps I should prepare in advance?"__ The old overseer, who just barely escaped punishment from the young general, politely asked.

 _"_ _ _That would do overseer. Make progress."__ Alexander gestured Lzammer to leave the room for his request. _"_ _ _But this leaves one question. Why is this…Maloney using the funds of the witches to build this thing?"__

This left his general and two assistants in thoughts.

 _"_ _ _Maybe it's too risky to be accepted?"__ Gawain voice out his own thoughts. It seemed reasonable, considering that they were up to use his enemy's technology, which could potentially be a double blade. But several things just didn't make sense. Why didn't they just take budgets from the other projects instead? Alexander could say for sure that the huge tanks and battleships they were building were pretty useless against his own armada. They were too big, too expensive and too sluggish to counter the Neuroi. Ok, they might be powerful, but the cost of making one of them was not worth the fight. While it may took a few years to construct one, it can only take a few hours, or even a few minutes to be destroyed if faced against Alexander's flagship. On the other hand, the witches were fast, maneuverable, easily combined with the human army, and more or less skilled. So far they were the only one to make significant results against the Neuroi occupation. So why would they try to lessen their roles on the battlefield?

Alexander could say for sure that the human logic wasn't so deteriorated to do such a thing. He had to admit it, but humans were smart creatures. In the course of a few years, their weapon development advanced very quickly, from a nearly harmless pistol to a devastating machine gun, from a few tons tank to a hundred tons steel monster. But there were so many things that hindered their progress against the Neuroi. One of which, one of the most common…was arrogance.

 _"_ _ _More likely they are having something against the witches in general. Perhaps…something related to their pride."__

Perhaps the fact that these girls were taking the place as the main enforcing unit against the Neurois deeply upset them. It was in their culture, for thousands of years, that men were always the pillar of support for women, while they only served as housewives, tending their husbands and children. Women were generally seen as weak and not suited for jobs that carried high responsibility. There were a few exceptions to this rules, such as Joan of Arc or Catherine the Great, but the majority was the same. It was until very recently, with the appearance of witches with mysterious powers that, for some reasons, only applied to young girls, that the equality of genders were balanced. Or rather…had a chance to.

 _ _Apparently some just couldn't accept that reality.__

Alexander thought to himself. That's why their culture were so inferior to the Neurois. The Neurois, although had many male cores in their rankings, did not hinder the ambitions of female Neurois who wished to proceed in the high ranks. That was why individuals like Eris or Jynetta were present.

 _"_ _ _But nonetheless, their course of action is considered illegal to the human governmental law, and is pretty much a betrayal to the witches."__ Eris said.

 _"_ _ _So this faction isn't entirely our enemy. It's also the witches'"__ Jynetta added.

 _"_ _ _And that is exactly what I am hoping for."__ Alexander continued. _"_ _ _There are full of contradictions within their command structures, forming into this kind of internal conflict. In this particular case, if my speculation is correct, they will test the weapon on us, collect the result, and then use it against the witches."__

 _"_ _ _So you're just gonna let it happen?"__

Eris's question stunned him for a few seconds.

 _"_ _ _...No. If they go too far, I will have to initiate my counter right away. It would not serve the best for my purposes, but in either cases, their failure is in our grasp."__

He clinched his hand tightly in emphasis to his words. The two assistants had no objections, but his young and more impulsive subordinate general were rather doubtful.

 _"_ _ _This seems to be a very well-thought out plan, but didn't it seem to be a little bit too risky for our troops, sir? Were you willing to sacrifice lives of our own troops for that plan?"__

 _"_ _ _And have a chance to disrupt the enemy's command structure."__ But Alexander suddenly countered. _"_ _ _In a long-term war, if you let your enemy become one with your other enemies, then you'll surely lose. Do you understand that, general Gawain?"__

 _"…"_ The general found himself speechless against Alexander's words. No matter how much you can argue, there were much wisdom in what the experienced and seasoned supreme general said. Gawain could not really comprehend all of it, for he was only a fair tactician, but his words had no power here.

 _"_ _ _Yes, general."__ He admitted, reluctantly.

 _"_ _ _Any other questions. If not…"__ Alexander gestured his hand, a sign to leave. Gawain left the room not longer after that, followed by his two aides.

XXX

Atlantic Ocean

501st base of operation

It was a beautiful day. Physically, the sun was shining hot, the clouds were mild and the blowing winds from the vast Atlantic had lifted the veils of all the witches. One could not afford to stay inside in such a weather. Well, except for Erica, that is.

Mentally, the day was also as beautiful. You don't get to see it regularly, for the constant string of defeat had been looming over the witches' for so long that they had found days like this to be a rare occurance. The battle over the Western Coast of Africa was over, and humanity had earned back a part of the said continent from the hands of the Neuroi, but with a very confusing victory. The fact that Alexander had let them take it on purpose was mysterious. It may serve as something bigger in his grand scheme, and humanity couldn't afford to let their guard down at that. But still, it wouldn't hurt to enjoy a little bit of victory.

"Here." Mio said as she handed Minna a small photo. "It's him."

The photo showed a man wearing nothing but black clothings with occasional red hexagon pattern and a peaked cap on his head. His posture straight, his two hands crossed behind him, his red eyes glowed in the camera, glimmering a shade of confidence as he looked to the left corner of the picture. The picture of the man who brought terror upon all the witches and generals in the world.

"He looks nothing different from a regular human, except for the fact that his skin is rather pale." Minna answered

"I can assure that he's the same guy I encountered in the Gallian naval battle. He's unlike any Neurois we have seen before. He's smart and unpredictable."

Shown by those unusual maneuvers.

"Now the Neuroi prediction pattern that we made up is completely useless. Our job now will be a lot more difficult, since we'll have to be on constant guard."

Minna then looked slightly away from her paper.

"But to be honest, I am a little bit regretful…"

Mio's eyes jerked up a little at her sudden statement

"Regretful?" She asked.

About what?

"About how young he is. I mean, for a man of his talent, I feel kind of terrible having to put him down."

Mio's reaction was a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Terrible? Minna, do you know what he has done to us?! To humanity?! He killed millions of innocent people!"

"Mio…" She sighed, not because she was annoyed by her, but because she could understand how she felt. The pain and sorrow that the Neurois brought to the world was simply too big to be forgiven. The commander knew it. She should be the one knowing it the best. Her lover, Kurt, died in front of her eyes. She had all the reasons to loathe at her enemies for all they took from her. And yet…

"But think about it. Wouldn't it be much better if he had become our ally?"

"Yes, but…"

"We shouldn't go out and judge people so impulsively. Maybe he isn't really a bad person."

Isn't really a bad person?

Mio could feel her blood racing. But she couldn't really go as far as screaming at the commander. After all, she could be right. Who knows.

Her fist tightened, trying to calm her angers down. But then, she began to speak with a great resolution.

"Whether or not it is correct, we must put him down at all costs! For our future. For humanity's future."

"Hmm." Minna was forced to agree with her.

XXX

Buckingham Palace

2200

Alexander was spending his time reading through Tsun Szu's book about the Art of War, something which he had already done seven times over ever since he arrived on Earth, to the point that he could recite all the critical words of this masterpiece that he deemed. And what was more surprising was that it was a mere Earthling who wrote this thing. He had never had expected that the descendants of this genius would become his arch nemesis whose destructions were considered to be one of the most difficult puzzle worth solving.

 _"_ _ _Hey, Eris-san…"__ The transferred Empress's bodyguard apparently found this hobby of his a little bit strange. It wouldn't have been so if he hadn't spent a total of six hours reading non-stop. The Empress in her free time also read, but not as common and hardcore like he did.

 _"_ _ _Don't stress it."__ On the other hand, Alexander's little adjutant over here had been stuck with him ever since…what…forever. She met him on her first mission to Jupiter and was immediately assigned to her current position. Her job was pretty dull, and her interaction with him was rather awkward, mostly on his part. But eventually, you would have to get used to it.

 _"_ _ _Say…Jynetta-san, I didn't have many opportunity to get to know you ever since you got here. Are you really the former Empress's bodyguard?"__ Eris asked, wanting to both get acquainted with her and to kill her time, since her master was busy elsewhere with his beloved book.

 _"_ _ _That I am. But she treated me more like a close friend than a mere bodyguard."__ Jynetta replied. _"_ _ _Those were good times. We usually spent our leisurely times together, talking about…you know…stuff. How about you?"__

 _"_ _ _Me?"__ Eris chuckled bitterly. _"_ _ _Yours are better, much better than someone who doesn't react to anything at all."__ She glanced at the supreme general, who was still hyper focusing on his book. _"_ _ _He's an extremely smart person, but smart people are usually weird unfortunately."__

 _"_ _ _I can sense."__ Jynetta replied. _"_ _ _I wonder if he is hearing us secretly…"__ She said as both glared at him dangerously.

 _ _What the hell?__

What are they talking about that concerned him so much?

He shouldn't know.

It was at this moment that the holographic tablet next to Alexander suddenly notified him. Incoming direct transmission. His eyes widened considerably. The supreme general instantly turned to his two aides, closing his book, his countenance serious.

 _"_ _ _You two, please. Clear the room."__ He said.

The two girls looked at each other confusedly, but were forced to comply. Something serious must have been going on.

They left the room immediately. And once they had already filed out, Alexander pushed the accept call button.

All of a sudden, a calm yet cold and merciless voice came from the tablet. Much more diabolical and relentless than the young Alexander. A voice that could struck fear in all who stands, those that never should. A voice that the general knew very well.

 _"_ _ _Supreme general Alexander Kherol…"__

The voice addressed the supreme general slowly.

 _"_ _ _Report to me the current situation on Earth"__

 _"_ _ _Yes sir. The enemy in North Western Europe has been completely routed. Britannia is ours."__ Alexander replied.

 _"_ _ _Good…Very good…"__

 _"_ _ _But after the strike on Britannia, the humans have organized a counter attack on West Africa. They have taken a part of it, and are holding it there."__

 _"_ _ _..."__

The voice suddenly turned silent. His non-restraint and straightforward admittance of his defeat in West Africa left him baffled, yet not surprised.

 _"_ _ _You…said it so…straightforward…I…sense in it…something more than a simple defeat…Is it part of your grand scheme?"__

Alexander was also impressed by how he was able to sense it so easily. But he wasn't too surprised by it, for he wasn't any normal Neuroi.

 _"_ _ _Yes sir. Everything is going accordingly as planned. Soon, Earth's defense forces will be nothing but flora organics…Or perhaps there is something that I did wrong?"__

Alexander asked the voice back in tow, not in a manner of questioning, but rather…challenging.

 _"_ _ _Hmm…"__ The voice took a few moments to reply. _"_ _ _Depends on how each individuals see it…As long as results manifest…nothing is wrong. Also…"__

 _"_ _ _Yes sir?"__

 _"_ _ _There is…a disturbance in the central core control…what has happened, supreme general?"__

 _"_ _ _A core theft, sir. It is a part of the human's plan to counter attack us…"__

 _"_ _ _Theft you say…and how will you dealt with this?"__

 _"_ _ _All prepared. The core will be our asset to the human's destruction. Do you need to hear the details of it, sir?"__

 _"_ _ _None required, general…Hmhmhm."__ The voice laughed with his mouth closed.

 _"_ _ _Do you have any further instruction, sir?"__

 _"_ _ _Just the usual, general Alexander…your goal is to bring terror to the citizen. Destroy cities, towns, villages...Anything to bring these puerile creatures to our knees…Fear of our military…and fear of our empire…will keep them in order."__

Just the usual…

Alexander bit his lower lips secretly and quietly, his eyes flickered in hesitation at the order that the voice deemed usual. The thought struggled to get through his mind.

 _"_ _ _I require an answer general…"__

The voice asked again, realizing the hesitation, but not the train of thoughts inside Alexander's head.

 _ _Screw this…__

No time to think this twice. He had to answer him.

Mustering all his possible honesty, Alexander returned the voice one final time.

 _"_ _ _As you wish, my Emperor…"__

With this, the transmission ended, leaving the general in deep thoughts.


End file.
